Reed IIIs were left frustrated after Southgate Compton IIs
batted out for a bizarre draw at Freeman College on
Saturday. Reed finished the day with a healthy 18 points,
but ran out of Overs and just failed to bowl out Compton
after the visitors made the strange decision to shut up
shop from the start of their innings ending up with 0
points, not even trying to make a total of 110, where the
first batting points begin.
The day started off well for Compton, as Reed Skipper Matt
Bowles lost his 4th consecutive toss. The visitors elected
to field on what looked a belting pitch, and Reed’s openers
Ben Bowles and William Heslam then set about putting a
total on the board. Youngster Heslam again looked in fine
form as he played a classy array of shots, showing maturity
and skill beyond his years as he raced into the 20s. Bowles
was playing a more watchful innings at the other end, and
Reed reached a good total of 56 before Heslam (46) clipped
a shot off of his legs stright into the arms of square leg,
agonisingly short of what would have been his 3rd half
century in 4 games. George Greaves (4) went soon after, and
it was left to Bowles and Mitchell Cooper to steady the
ship. Scoring was now a much slower process for Reed, but
the pair successfully weathered the storm, and with 29 of
the allotted 47 Overs gone, Reed had reached 110.
Bowles upped the tempo and began to find the boundary with
some thumping shots, ably supported by Cooper. Bowles (56)
reached a gritty half century, finally out attempting to up
the pace. Maseeh Naeem then entered the fray for Reed with
the instructions of skipper Matt Bowles to up the run rate,
and that he did. Naeem was brutal in his dissecting of the
Compton bowling, plundering boundaries to all parts. Cooper
also began to find runs easier to come by as the visitors
began to toil in the heat. Naeem reached a quick fire 50
before being bowled with 3 balls to go. Cooper was left
stranded on 46 Not Out as skipper Matt Bowles (1 Not Out)
declared the Reed innings on 223-4 off of 45 Overs, leaving
Compton a fair split of overs to chase down the runs.
However the chase never really began, as Reed opening
bowlers Kallum Ward and Julien Fynn bowled an excellent
line, restricting the visitors to the odd single. Ward took
a wicket and Fynn took two wickets in his spell, following
up his fine recent form. Change bowlers Andy Wholley and
Mitchell Cooper then followed up the good work, Cooper
making another breakthrough to leave the visitors 4 down
for 50 runs after 25 Overs. A stubborn middle order
partnership involving the visiting skipper then frustrated
Reed, as good bowling was met with block after block from
the Compton batsmen who were showing absolutely no willing
to make a game of it. This led Matt Bowles to take up a
very attacking mentality, as every single Reed player was
fielding within 20 yards of the batsmen in an attempt to
tempt the visitors into playing a shot. The tactics worked
as skipper Bowles’ wily off spin proved too tempting for
the Compton batsman, who promptly skied a catch to the
gleeful hands of the fielder. William Heslam then took two
quick wickets in his excellent spell of seem bowling,
however with Overs running out, Reed still required 3
wickets for victory. The returning Cooper did bounce out a
further Compton batsman, but it was all to no avail as the
45 Over mark finally arrived, with the visitors left on
101-8.