Hon. Secretary’s Report 2009
The First XI narrowly missed promotion at the end of season but in all other respects this was a very good year for the club. Our partnership with Freman College has been a tremendous success, with the fourth XI immediately finding the excellent pitch very much to their liking. Despite some lengthy trips to away matches, they achieved promotion in their first season in the league. The U15’s also had a successful season, reaching the Hertfordshire County final and beating a lot of very good town sides in the process.
Off the field we have reached a number of ambitious goals which we set ourselves, most importantly the new land drains on the green. This task was expertly managed by Richard Robertson, and with the support and cooperation of the Parish Council we completed a major project with minimal disruption. All users of the green will benefit from this work for many years to come. Our new Fund Raising Officer, John Heslam, was successful with grant applications to fund the replacement nets, and also to fund the work at Freman College to bring the pitch up to scratch and purchase equipment. The £10,000 required to complete this project was split evenly between a donation of £5000 by Alan Deville’s company and a matching grant from the lottery funded Sport England. This project was a team effort, led by Richard and John, and the new facilities are superb, as all third and fourth eleven players can confirm.
By making use of Howard Marshall’s excellent contacts, we have also extended the car park behind the pavilion into the area surrounding the pylon, with a lot of the work undertaken by Bethan and Graham Smith. Graham is one of those people who does not say a lot at committee, but is always there when help is required. He, Alan Ward, Richard, Peter and Marcus Baker and a few other dedicated members have also got the third net almost ready to use. This will be a high quality net constructed to accurately simulate the bounce on a real wicket. All of the above plus Paul Watts and Paul Garrott did most of the work to construct the third sight screen. Wood for the fourth has already been purchased, so volunteers required next spring!
Financially, the club is in a very sound position, but we must not become too complacent. In order to match the playing ambitions of the club with a first class pitch we are already considering spending a lot of money to level the outfield. We also need to look at how to fund end of season work if the decline in voluntary effort, especially by playing members, continues to tax the ingenuity of Richard. The support of Peter and Marcus Baker, who attended every workday, was the exception, but with two grounds to look after we need to address this problem urgently. It is, of course, much more cost effective to use our own labour, and to this end we are considering various forms of financial incentive to playing members, hence the change to Rule 10. Increases in subscriptions and match fees are also being considered, and it should be borne in mind that first eleven games make a large loss after umpires’ fees and league ball purchases are taken into account. Our investment in additional maintenance equipment has also increased our annual insurance premium, and I am anticipating a lively debate on these issues at the AGM, so please come along and have your say.
As always, the bar is a major fund-raiser for the club, and the proximity of third and fourth eleven home games helped to increase bar turnover to a near record level. Profitability was also up, thanks to the reduced VAT rate and the plethora of Tesco promotions on bottled beer and lager. John has also negotiated a better deal with Cambridge Beers, who supply our keg bitter and lager. Although the primary purpose of the bar is not to raise funds, that is what it does for us, and very effectively too. The money raised behind the bar keeps subscriptions and match fees relatively low, and prices are kept below those charged at pubs and most of the clubs we play against. However, if you think they are too high I suggest you ask yourself where we would be if Keith was not always behind the bar or John did not spend so much of his time collecting all the stock from the cash and carry in Enfield. Shelves also have to be stacked and empties disposed of, a task which normally falls to either myself, Cilla, or Richard. If you think you can do the job better….
Thanks also to Baz, who maintains our excellent web-site, where Internet sales commission keeps on rolling in. As I stated last year, the adverts you see on the front page of our web site are links to well known retailers’ sites, such as Amazon. Baz has negotiated deals with these companies, and Reed Cricket Club will get a commission on purchases you make online. You don't pay any extra on your order, we just get 5% or more of the purchase price. Do not add the web sites to your favourites list as this bypasses the commission payment process. Always access the club web site first, then click the appropriate link.
We may have had some disappointments on the field this season, but we can always rely on the support of our non-playing members to enhance the activities of the club. Paul and Marion’s curries are a favourite with many members, and Ann Garrott, our Social Secretary, organised some very successful events during the season, including the Newmarket Nights trip and two visits to Harlow dogs, the second of which I personally found very rewarding. Both the Quiz Night and Race Night were well supported, although playing members were conspicuous by their absence.
The quiz raised £200 for the Willow Foundation, and Cancer Research UK benefitted to the tune of £652 when Karen Tidey took part in the Bournemouth Race for Life. On a more sombre note, Simon Jackson is currently raising funds for North Herts SANDS (Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Society), and you can sponsor Simon’s Marathon run using the following link http://www.justgiving.com/SimonJackson4mo. This has been a sad year for the Jackson family, and we will all miss Mike, who was a class batsman. I particularly remember a Keatley Cup game at Cokenach when he was opening the batting with Brian Bevan, who he ran out very early in the innings. Brian was not best pleased, but Mike rescued the situation with a typical innings, full of controlled aggression and cultured stroke play of the highest order.
Turning to activities on the field, the First XI were bitterly disappointed to miss promotion, but Bernie has been working hard to find ways of addressing our weaknesses, and I am optimistic that we can improve on last season’s league position. Captains and managers have sent me the following reports.
Bernie Morse - Club Captain
The 2009 season started badly for a number of reasons; firstly the loss of our influential overseas player at the eleventh hour; followed by a defeat at Cockfosters in the first game of season, this despite a great century by James Heslam.
The next part of the season proved to be a mixture of highs and lows, both for the team and individual players. An easy win against a weak Kings Langley was followed by a great bowling performance from Graham Wilson at Ampthill, which led to a good victory. Despite some good individual displays from James Heslam and Chris Jackson and in general the entire bowling attack, the next seven games must be considered disappointing, and the fragile nature of the first team batting was evident on more than one occasion; perhaps this could be forgiven at Old Finchleians, considering the quality of the bowling attack.
Despite this unsatisfactory middle part of the season, the side found itself not too far off the pace and a series of good wins got underway at Northwood. Some brilliant bowling from Andy Young left Northwood all out, for not many, on a minefield of a track. Reed’s reply was salvaged by a fantastic knock from Richard Johnson and some mighty hits from Andy Young.
Just scraping through by one wicket at Northwood seemed to lift the side and a series of back to back wins followed against Northchurch, Preston, Radlett and Potters Bars. Over this run of games three performances stood out. Graham Wilson’s nine wicket haul at Preston, Chris Jackson’s ton against Radlett, despite facing the best bowler in the league, and Andy Young’s eight wicket return against Northchurch at home.
At this stage our hopes were high, sitting in second place with just three games to go, and then the batting frailty returned. Scoring no runs against either Watford or Broxbourne, despite the best efforts of Phil Frenay, cost the side dearly. The only highlight of the last fixture, a dead rubber against Old Albanians, was a big ton for Karl Ward, who batted brilliantly on the day against a fair bowling attack.
From a personal point of view I believe Reed’s bowling attack performed well this year and will undoubtedly miss Andy Young. Chris Jackson and James Heslam were at times brilliant but let down on far too many occasions by the rest of the side. Tom Fulk’s work commitments placated his availability, which also weakened the batting, but Phil Frenay’s return to form at the end of the season and Karl Ward’s knock on the last day were really encouraging. We can have no complaints about Robbo’s wickets or Mrs Curtis’s teas, both of which were excellent.
On the wider club front I would like to congratulate Peter Baker and the Fourth team, who have on many levels set a standard for the rest of the club to aspire to; achieving the success of a promotion in their first league season but still applying the spirit of the game, a lesson I would like to bring forward for all the club, in the coming season.
John Heslam’s U15 side made me proud to be associated with Reed Cricket Club. A village club competing tooth and claw with much bigger town opposition and in most cases winning. Reaching the county final was indeed a great achievement and one with which we should be all pleased. I look forward to playing with all the guys involved, you did indeed do the club and yourself proud.
Jason Archer - Saturday 2nd XI Captain
Reed's first summer in Division 6 turned into a season of consolidation. A mixture of availability, or lack of it, and injury throughout the season made it difficult to pick our strongest eleven, on paper, on a regular basis. That said, everyone selected always showed full commitment and a degree of aptitude for playing the game at a slightly higher level. Highlights of the season were our great wins against champions Broxbourne, high flying Letchworth and Hemel Hempstead. Not so clever performances against Leverstock Green, Southgate Compton, Hertford and Radlett were the reason we finished only 14th. However, apart from Rickmansworth, (who we stuffed) we were the highest placed promoted team.
Players who performed particularly well through the season with the bat included Fergus Martin, who again showed talent, maturity and above all "stickability". Opening the innings like an opening batsman!! He valued his wicket, rarely giving the bowlers a freebie. He scored nearly 400 runs in 12 innings, including his maiden century. Stuart Smith also made significant contributions with the bat, scoring nearly 250 runs in just 8 knocks. Stuart obviously had an eye on the batting trophy and soon realised Fergus was his main threat, given some of the running between the wickets when the pair batted together. Michael "Baz" Curtis also scored a century (126 not out in a partnership of 196) against Tewin, where we declared on 313 - 2!!
With the ball, no real surprises! Jason Archer took 26 wickets from 131 overs. Figures of 7-17 against Letchworth was the highlight, which included an all bowled hat-trick. Peter Tidey took 43 wickets from 272 overs, again including a 7fer. Peter took 5 wickets or more in an innings 5 times! It was also great to see Andy Emms (Jr) back playing and in the wickets!
As many of you know I will be standing down as captain next season, for no other reason than it must be time for a change! Good luck to whoever wants and gets the job, it is a pleasure!!!
Marcus Martin - Sunday Captain
After several years of mixed enjoyment and results in the North Herts league the decision was taken that we would play friendly games for this year’s Sunday fixtures against teams in Hertfordshire, and also to enter the County Cup, a very demanding competition. The realisation of not having to go to Luton every Sunday was already an incentive for many of the Sunday regulars. The main aim for the Sunday team was to play enjoyable and friendly cricket yet at a competitive standard, and thanks to the hard work put in by Paul Watts, our Fixtures Secretary, we managed to find that happy medium.
Early season games against Cokenach and Dunstable brought victories, due largely to the very rare sight on a Sunday of James Heslam and Tom Fulk. Tom making a chanceless 99 not out (later rounded up to 101 not out) against Cokenach, and James making a typically classy 110 not out against a very strong Dunstable. Following those early season victories, confidence was rightly high for the away trip to Chorleywood. Sadly, we didn’t have the best of trips, with Matt Bowles injuring his knee early in the day, an injury that would affect the big hitting all-rounder for most of the season. But the game featured six players under the age of 21, allowing many to showcase their potential, especially Tom Greaves and Mitch Cooper, who by the end of the season were not just contributing to games but winning them for us. We then played Forest Gate, and after restricting them to 121 all out with a bowling attack whose average age was just 20, we chased this down for nought in just 21 overs, thanks mainly to an innings of 102 not out from Stuart Smith, a quite remarkable feat.
After a good start to the season the Sunday regulars were drawn in the County Cup to face Home Counties team North Mymms. With only three first teamers available and six players under 21, Reed showed real grit and determination against a very strong outfit. Despite losing by 70 runs this did not reflect how well the youngsters performed, in particular Jack Tidey and Rupert Martin, both showing their promise. Soon afterwards Reed played Hoddesdon in another high scoring encounter; Tom Greaves opening the batting brought up his 50 in just 21 balls. Phil Frenay then showed his undoubted class with his maiden Reed century, against another strong outfit, making an elegant 122.
He was well supported by Richard Barlow (77 not out), who throughout the season showed what the Sunday team had missed in previous years with both bat and ball, and in the field. In a tight finish to the game, Jack Tidey and Tom Greaves showed no lack of confidence with ball in hand, wrapping the game up for a comfortable win. Other highlights of the season were Richard Barlow’s 100 not out in a 180 run victory against Thorley and Mitchell Cooper’s match winning knock against Old Camdenians.
Overall a far more enjoyable season for the Sunday team, and a more successful one at that. Hopefully we can build upon this for next year and have another enjoyable and productive season. Finally, on behalf of the Sunday team I would just like to thank Julie and Rosemary Collins as well as Bethan Smith who throughout the year provided the teas which were many players’ highlight of the day. Finally thanks to Richard Robertson for producing the best wickets that we played on once again.
Matt Bowles - Saturday Third XI
The Saturday 3rd XI once again competed in the division 11 of the Herts League. The season proved to be a rollercoaster ride for the 3s, with the side finishing in mid-table after a blistering start and then a terrible run of defeats. Although the overall goal of promotion for the 3s was missed, there were still a number of positives to be taken forward into the 2010 season, notably the performances of youngsters such as William Heslam (14), Kallum Ward (16), Julian Fynn (19), Maseeh Naeem (I don’t know his age, and I’m not going to guess as he has a gun-teen) and Richard Robertson (used to be a teen).
The season started so brightly, with the first five games yielding three comprehensive victories, a winning draw (the opposition batted out for zero points) and a very narrow defeat, leaving us well in the promotion race. At this time, William Heslam was starring with the bat, Kallum Ward was starring with the ball, along with Julian Fynn and Robbo, and the batting benefited from useful contributions from JQH, Robbo (again), Maseeh and myself.
We then hit a bad patch where we managed to consistently fail with either bat or ball, or in some cases, both. As a club, we suffered badly from poor availability in the months of June and July, something that in my opinion affected the 3s more than all the other teams. We had weeks where we lost Kallum, Julian, Maseeh, Ben Bowles and Robbo to the 2s, as well as myself and JQH to fairly lengthy injuries. Although the young players that came in did themselves proud, the experience of some of the opposition sides proved too much, and we endured a run of only two victories in ten games.
Still, there were some notable performances. Robbo was inspirational with bat and ball, Maseeh bludgeoned opposition attacks all around Hertfordshire, Julian Fynn came of age as an opening bowler, William Heslam showed batting skill beyond his years and the Buntingford tea ladies proved week in, week out that they are among the best in the county. Thanks to Mrs Garrott, Mrs Martin, Mrs Naeem and also to Mrs (Sam) Bowles.
We finished the season strongly, gaining in excess of 80 points from the final four league games, to take us toward the upper echelons of the table, but it was too little, too late in the end.
This aside, I must thank all who played, made tea, helped out with the ground and those who stepped into the captaincy role on the frustrating occasions when I missed out through injury. I enjoyed immensely captaining the side, and it was a pleasure to behold some of the personal and team performances put in this year. Here is to 2010, and I’m sure, promotion for the 3rd XI.
Peter Baker - Sunday Second XI
A generally successful season concluded after playing 17 Sunday matches, mainly against local village opposition, but other new opponents, courtesy of our Fixtures Secretary, Paul Watts, involved town sides such as Cheshunt and Hoddesdon. This made a refreshing change from previous years when most fixtures had been in the Cambs Transitional or Herts Development Leagues with their competition rules about adult/colt ratios, restricted bowling spells and contrived batting orders. Although usually played to a Forty/Forty format with draws not an option, Reed won 11 of their games and lost 6. Nine batsmen scored 14 fifties during the season: Marcus Baker hit three of them, George Greaves, John Kershaw and Ed Blissett notched up two each and then there was one each for Marcus Martin, Richie Barlow, Peter Baker, and Julian Fynn, his first ever. David Johnson scored the sole century of the season with 108 not out in his first innings for two years. Kallum Ward had a near miss with a forty-nine but averaged 54 in 3 completed innings. Mitchell Cooper averaged a quirky 87 by being not out in 2 of his 3 innings.
Most runs were scored by George Greaves (298 at an average of 37.25), Marcus Baker (288 at 28.8), Peter Baker (243 at 34.7) and David Johnson (216 at 108). Leading bowling performances were by Neil Haslam with 16 wickets in the season including 4 for 13 versus Guilden Morden; Matt Giblin, 5 for 9 versus Woodcutters; George Garrott, 5 for 14 versus Oakwood; Jack Tidey, 5 for 28 versus Aston (away); Will Kirby, 4 for 14 versus North Enfield; Chris “Coldplay” Martin, 4 for 31 and Maseeh Naeem, 4 for 23, both versus Aston (at home); and finally Lloyd Bowman, 4 for 29 versus Knebworth Blue. Consistent support bowling came from Chris West and James Bloor. Marcus Baker proved to be a more than competent wicketkeeper, registering 8 catches and 2 stumpings whilst the outfield catching and ground fielding was of a generally good standard; Julian Fynn becoming the king of the direct-hit run-out whilst the leading catchers were Graham Hazard, John Kershaw and Peter Baker.
Once more, Rosemary Collins presented the most complimented teas for the home games and these were eagerly finished off by the growing band of regular Sunday supporters once play had resumed! When Rosemary was absent, Bethan Smith took over the job most satisfactorily. Pitch-wise, Richard Robertson prepared the wickets to perfection. Thanks to all three. They provided the backdrop to the typical English summer setting of cricket being played on the village green. Long may it continue.
Peter Baker - Saturday Fourth XI
At our fantastic new facility at Freman College, after months of work by Richard Robertson overseeing major pitch upgrades and other preparations made by Club members, what better way was there than to start the campaign with a convincing 75 run win over Knebworth Park VI? The basis of the team throughout the season revolved around familiar faces from the previous seasons’ Third XI, like Alan Ward, Ian Roberts, John Kershaw, Darren Radford and Marcus Baker. During the season they were joined by colts from the Under 15 and Under 17 age groups, mainly Kieran Willoughby, Lloyd Bowman, Lewis Fitzgerald, Scott Caine, Sam Deville, Matt Naeem, Luke Cox, Nick Green, Will Kirby, George Garrott, James Bloor, Matt Giblin, Ollie Smith and Alex West, plus older players such as Rob Willoughby, Graham Hazard, Paul Garrott, David Johnson, Jason Pallett and the returning Christian Martin, back after an absence of a decade away from cricket. In that first match, Peter Baker got proceedings underway with 45, Alan Ward was 71 not out and Will Kirby 31 not out as Reed declared on 238 for 7. In reply, Knebworth had nothing to match Alex West who took a superb 5 for 48 and Ian Roberts, 3 for 28. First match, first win. The Fourths were on their way.
In the next match, Chipperfield Clarendon were stronger opposition. Although Reed still scored 231 for 4 declared, (John Kershaw 83 n.o. and Paul Garrott 69), we did not have strong enough bowling to penetrate the defensive batting of the home side and they were content to settle for the draw, ending on 128 for 7. The third match was rather one-sided. After another Saturday driving round the M25 we scored a massive 290 for 3 declared in just 37 overs against King’s Langley. Scoring his maiden century and the highest score in the League records for Division 14, Marcus Baker simply made hay as he reached 175 in 33 overs, (including 21 fours and 9 sixes), ably supported by John Kershaw with 62. Jason Pallett took 4 for 34 and Alan Ward 3 for 10, as the hosts were bundled out for 101.
At home versus Langleybury, who were the divisional winners, runs were scarcer but we still reached 159. Ian Roberts top-scored with 33 in a 49 run 10th wicket partnership with Kieren Willoughby. It was a stand that won us the match as Langleybury were restricted to 123 all out with 3-fors from Chris Martin and Alan Ward and 2-fors from Ian Roberts and Peter Baker. Langleybury obviously did not like losing.
The next match was on an artificial pitch against Stevenage and once again they decided to go for the draw, (IN THE FIRST OVER of their reply), and with a couple of appeals rejected, we were disappointed not to win. We had reached 246 all out with runs coming from Rob Willoughby (70), and Marcus Baker (46 including 11 fours). Stevenage were well short at 115 for 8 by the end.
In the next game Botany Bay were rolled over for just 121, (3 wickets each for Roberts and Ward), and a remarkable spell of 10 overs, 2 wickets for just 4 runs by teenager Matt Giblin. Paul Garrott (52 n.o.), Peter Baker and Darren Radford knocked off the runs in 23 overs. Another journey round the M25 on the following Saturday to the Maple Cross junction, where we encountered a rather bumpy, yet soggy pitch next to a sewerage farm. Chiltern 06 outplayed us and Reed were all out for 124. In the field we dropped 6 catches, with one, in the early overs, being off their all-rounder and most prolific batsman and we lost deservedly by 9 wickets.
Our third successive defeat came at the hands of Baldock who managed only 157 for 5. Whilst Marcus Baker and Alan Ward were at the crease we were on course in the run chase, but once they were out it was frustrating that we could only reach 143 all out in reply.
Now, with just three matches remaining, Hertford and Langleybury were leading the Division and Reed were bunched with Chipperfield, Baldock, Chiltern and Preston in the following places. It was vital that we improved our performances, so when North Mymms had us at 28 for 4 in the 16th over in the next fixture, things were looking bleak. Alan Ward then joined Peter Baker and together they re-lived previous partnerships from earlier years as they slowly got the run rate up to 3 an over by the 30th over, then went from 90 to 209 in the next 15 overs. Baker declared two overs early by which time Ward had scored 55 and Baker had reached 119 not out. A devastating spell of 4 wickets for no runs by Ian Roberts finished off the visitors for 60 all out.
Aiden Swain made a welcome appearance at the top of the batting order in the next game, scoring an undefeated 78 against Sawbridgeworth. This secured victory by 6 wickets when chasing 157 after Christian Martin had led the bowling attack with 4 for 40 earlier. One match to go and Reed still needed a win to ensure a promotion place. Preston were our last opponents and thanks to Ian Roberts taking 6 for 26, and Kallum Ward, 4 for 18, they scored only 101. Veteran batsmen John Heslam, Peter Baker, Paul Garrott and Alan Ward competently completed the job as Reed won by 6 wickets. We finished the season with a couple of friendly fixtures, the highlight being 5 for 29 from Christian Martin in another match against Preston.
So our first foray into the Herts League ended in success with promotion to Division 13, where we will be rewarded with a longer fixture list. We had played 12, won 7, drawn 2 and lost 3 in scoring 273 points and conceding only 159 against. Peter Baker was the heaviest scorer, in more ways than one, with 325 and son Marcus was next with 280 at an average of 35. Paul Garrott (177 at 44.25), John Kershaw (154 at 51.33), and Alan Ward (197 at 65.67) were the other major contributors with the bat. In the bowling department, Alex West took 11 wickets at an average of 11.6, Alan Ward 11 at 6.18, and Ian Roberts 27 at 7.3 runs per wicket. There were some smart catches taken, many by the veteran slips and gully fielders P Baker, I Roberts and A Ward, and by wicketkeeper M Baker whose improving performances in that role made a difference. Overall the fielding was good and relied on the more athletic types to be in the right positions. The younger players, some of whom had not played anything more than Twenty/20 cricket in the past, began to learn how to adjust to the longer format, for without their contributions in all departments of the game, Reed’s Fourths would not have achieved promotion. Well done to them. The Fourth XI, with much the same line-up, can look forward to an equally successful campaign in 2010.
For off-field activities, thanks must go to Richard Robertson for all he has achieved with the pitch at Freman College, and to Sue Roberts, Pam Ward and Ann Garrott for providing such excellent teas.
John Heslam - U15 Manager
Reed under 15’s enjoyed a very successful season in 2009, winning 17 of the 23 matches they played and progressing to reach the overall Hertfordshire U15 County Championship Final after comfortably winning their local area Herts League.
The Herts League was our primary target and our Reed youngsters had to overcome opponents from all the senior clubs in the East Herts area to win it, namely Hertford, Bishops Stortford, Broxbourne, Hoddesdon and Sawbridgeworth. Winning 8 of these 10 matches they finished well clear at the top of their table after some truly notable performances.
A comfortable win over Letchworth in the County Quarter Final was followed by a superb Semi Final win in which our boys inflicted a first defeat of the season on a strong St. Albans team. The County Final match ultimately proved a little disappointing as, after a good bowling and fielding display, our batting, weakened in it’s usual depth by absences and injury, failed, and we were well beaten by a very strong Berkhamstead side. To end the season as overall runners up in a strong county was a superb achievement.
We chose the Cambridgeshire League as a secondary target and used it to share performance opportunities amongst everyone in our squad. Even so, we did want to do enough to try and win every game and we ultimately finished Cambs League runners up, winning 6 of our 8 matches played.
Our two defeats were both very close and both somewhat clouded with umpiring controversies. We lost to Royston by 10 runs, chasing a huge 164 target, and were set back by a key and very questionable LBW decision at a pivotal point in the match. Days later we lost by 2 wickets off the last ball against Haverhill after we suffered significantly from their umpires partial and inconsistent interpretation of what did or did not constitute a “wide”, depending on which side was bowling! Ironically Haverhill won the match off the last ball by the Reed Manager awarding them a wide!
Our Cambs Cup campaign fell at the first hurdle after we lost by 8 runs in an exciting and high scoring match against Royston, though again the match was marred by a significant umpiring controversy.
Our squad of 16 was not huge but contained some really talented individuals. There was a good team spirit amongst all the boys, though on a few occasions some individuals will to win and on field frustrations with things going wrong became a little too obvious, a point forcefully brought home to them by the coach! Sean Tidey was team captain and led from the front with a contribution of 497 runs at an average of 33, as well as setting a high standard behind the stumps with 13 stumpings in the season. Of the older boys Sam Deville made telling all-round contributions, whilst Will Kirby and Luke Cox had the best bowling averages in the team. Keiran Willoughby improved significantly as the season wore on and Hunter Diack and Lloyd Bowman contributed enthusiastically. Of the younger boys, Will Heslam totalled 565 runs at an average of 35 and Ollie Benham made some excellent contributions amongst his 346 runs in the season. Both also bowled with some significant success whilst Lewis Fitzgerald became a really important bowler for us and also made telling batting contributions. Scott Caine had an excellent first season, starring in the field, and with some bludgeoning innings at important times.
We sadly missed the services of the very talented James Hooper, out for the entire season with a rugby injury, but James enthusiastically turned up to score for us at most matches. Many of the squad featured in Reed 3rd and 4th Xl League fixtures, as well as Sunday Xl matches throughout the season and will go on to make fine cricketers.
Neil Curtis - U13 Manager
The 2009 season was something of a mixed bag for the Reed under 13’s. A difficult start to the season was followed by two wins in two days to get the team off the mark in both Herts and Cambridgeshire leagues. Victories were hard to come by throughout the summer, with six games won from a total of seventeen completed fixtures. This was, in part, due to the decision to give as many players as possible match experience rather than simply selecting the best eleven available for each game. The team chosen for Hertfordshire league matches was predominantly from the U13 age group and the Cambridgeshire league had a core of the younger (U12) boys, although there was certainly some overlap between the two teams. Whilst the win to loss ratio looks somewhat disappointing, hopefully a wider pool of players has gained competitive match know-how.
Reed played in Hertfordshire U13 group 1, finishing fifth out of six. This was a tough group, with Hertford heading the final table. Reed had two good victories against Hoddesdon, amassing an impressive 143 in the away fixture. Reed deservedly won a close game by 6 runs at Broxbourne to gain revenge for their home defeat earlier in the season. Two narrow defeats were experienced. Sawbridgeworth surpassed the Reed total with just three balls to spare and Reed made a great attempt at reaching the Bishops Stortford total of 111, falling just 7 runs short. Another notable performance was in the home match to comfortable league winners Hertford, with the boys fighting to a total of 100 batting second. Only one Herts league fixture fell foul of the weather.
A mid-table finish was achieved in Cambridgeshire under 13 league B, with 3 wins and four losses. A further three matches were cancelled, one due to heavy rain. After narrowly losing in the cup to Royston, who reached their target score with two balls left, Reed bounced back against the same opposition in the league. Scoring a competitive 101 batting first, Reed restricted Royston to just 63. There were back to back wins in late June. Babraham were outplayed in a solid team performance and Barrington were overcome with 5 balls and three wickets to spare.
The boys tried hard to improve during the season and, I hope, enjoyed their cricket. There were many good individual performances. A number are listed below, apologies to those concerned if I missed their highlights. The stand out bowler over the season was Peter Bloor, who achieved three 3-wicket hauls and best figures of 4-0-14-4.
Chris Marshall (best figures 4-1-10-3) and Tom Walsingham (4-0-13-2) were an aggressive opening partnership in the Herts league. Tom Hornby, Josh Poulton and Dominic McOmish bowled some good spells to highlight their all round talents. Ben Surrey, Shai Cookson-Swan, Cemal Ramadan and others showed reasons to be optimistic about next seasons under 13’s bowling attack. On the batting side, Josh Poulton and Greg Marshall provided the big scores. Josh scored two thirties (36, 33). Greg’s highest was 32, with three other scores in the twenties. Dominic McOmish, Tom Hornby, Peter Bloor and Chris Marshall all batted well, although Peter and Chris had relatively few opportunities with the willow.
The boys were well coached by Rob Bloor throughout the season. The early season lack of batting urgency was addressed and thoughtful fielding drills on Saturday mornings meant that the team were generally proficient at catching and ground fielding. Rob was often ably assisted by Andy Young who brought an additional competitive focus to training. Overall, a tough season for Reed under 13’s with some good cricket played, both in victory and defeat.
John Kershaw - U11 Manager
On the first Saturday of the season’s training we started with 10 eager, young and mostly new members, but as the weeks passed the squad soon grew to a respectable 15. After a few weeks of training in the nets and some kwik cricket matches to hone the fielding skills on the outfield it quickly became obvious that we had a squad of mostly all rounders. All the players showed talent with bat and/or ball and showed a desire to do well. By the time the first match came around, I was quite confident that, with a bit of concentration, our under 11’s could give a good account of themselves.
The more ‘senior’ players formed the core of our team. Ben Moody, Reece Fitzgerald, Finley Higgins, Jack Caine and Connor Poulton (captain), were always the first on the team sheet. Harry Dookheran showed promise as wicket keeper early on before Zac Conley, a more experienced gloveman who joined us later in the season, took over.
Our first game was away against Foxton which we won quite convincingly. Batting first, Reed scored regularly and worked well in pairs. This was followed by some early season tight bowling and regular wicket taking from Connor Poulton, Finley Higgins and Reece Fitzgerald to ensure that Foxton would never get close to our score. Other notable matches against highly regarded Thriplow and Whittlesford and Saffron Walden Girls were also won with apparent ease. It wasn’t until games in the second half of the season against Sawston, Royston and Haverhill that our good form deserted us and we suffered defeats. This was mainly due to poor concentration and lack of experience mixed with, perhaps, a bit of end of season lethargy.
Dean Chappell, Jag Lalli, Reece Knapp, Edward Kershaw, Freddie Stuart and Matthew Share made valuable contributions during the season which will give them confidence for next year to step up to being the more ‘senior’ players. Special mention is to be given to our youngest player Richard Stuart, who at the age of 6 always tried his best, even rushing back one Saturday between football tournament matches to come to training! We also took part in an eight-a-side kwik cricket competition organised by Longstanton cricket club. A squad of eleven players took part winning two of their three group matches, just missing out on the final due to losing the final match in the last over. We ended the season a creditable fourth in the league on twenty points with the analysis being played 8, won 4 lost 2 with 2 games cancelled due to poor weather.
In summary, for a very young team of boys most of whom have never before played cricket other than in their back gardens, they showed, on occasion, talent and maturity that will make the team very difficult to beat over the next few years. My thanks to Marcus Martin, Mitchell Cooper and Tom Greaves for running the training sessions, Richard Robertson for preparing the pitches and to all the parents who made the effort to bring their boys each week and support the team at matches.
My thanks to all the captains and managers for their contributions. Peter Baker wins the prize for the longest report, and I hold my hand up as a Sunday tea hanger-on. Mrs Curtis’s Saturday teas are a bit different, with more savoury items on the menu, but they are just as irresistible. Obviously, like all the players, I cannot wait for the start of next season.
Peter McMeekin (Club Secretary)