IN a hard-fought Division One encounter, Reed suffered another narrow defeat at the hands of St Margaretsbury. Reed captain James Heslam lost the toss and his side were put into bat. And it was the visitors who made the early difference, as they took th

IN a hard-fought Division One encounter, Reed suffered another narrow defeat at the hands of St Margaretsbury.

Reed captain James Heslam lost the toss and his side were put into bat.

And it was the visitors who made the early difference, as they took the wickets of Heslam (9) and the in-form Joe Curk (0).

Despite the shaky start Baz Curtis (33) continued his recent good form, and alongside Chris Jackson (76 not out) the partnership helped take the hosts to 61 for 2 after 13 overs.

However, St Margetsbury then turned to their slower and medium pace bowlers, and the Reed runs quickly began to dry up.

This period saw the end of Curtis and then Fulk for 12, which brought Simon Jackson (36) to the crease, and he gave Reed a much needed boost alongside brother Chris.

With excellent running between the wickets and some useful boundaries, they were able to initially consolidate and then propel the innings to 161, before Simon Jackson became the fifth dismissal.

With 4.4 overs left Chris Jackson continued to shine and Reed finished with a respectable 188 for 9.

In reply, Reed achieved an early breakthrough when Tidey (10-1-34) bowled the dangerous Wallace for 17.

However, despite losing his opening partner St Margetsbury's Australian Livermore (74) found his feet, taking his side above 100 for the loss of just one wicket, with partner Tilbury (47).

Young (11-43-0) and Johnson (6-0-23) did well to slow the visitors down, and when Reed introduced spinner Bernie Morse (12-1-50) the St Margaretsbury innings began to stall.

However, St Margetsbury were left with three to win off the last over, which was to be bowled by Joe Curk.

Two dot balls were followed by two wickets and suddenly the visitors had their backs to the wall, with three needed off two balls.

However, Shanley kept his head and carved one away over point to secure a three to clinch the away side victory off the penultimate ball.

Reed earned a deserved 15 points from the game - a decent return for their efforts.

Heslam said: "We were 20 or 30 runs light of a match winning score.

"Chris, Simon, and Baz batted very well, but we didn't quite fire as a unit with the bat.

"Our bowling and fielding was again excellent. It was nice to see Joe and Bernie bowl so well under pressure at the end like that and we came very close to forcing a draw.

"Hopefully on Saturday at Berkhamsted, we will be firing on all cylinders - with both bat and ball."

BUNTINGFORD travelled to top-of-the-table Newport on Saturday and came away with an emphatic victory, inspired by a magnificent all round performance by the in-form Chris Chambers.

Buntingford's Martin Coote (47) and Chris Ford (24) batted well, putting on an impressive first-wicket stand of 57.

The eventual dismissal of Ford brought Chris Chambers to the wicket, and after a patient start, he had soon compiled an excellent 64.

Buntingford were happy with their total of 179 for 5, but knew they would have to bowl well against a strong Newport batting line up.

In reply, opener James Hill was bowled by an unplayable delivery from Chambers in the first over, and this set the tone for the rest of the game.

Assisted by a damp wicket Chambers bowled his allotted 10 overs for just 13 runs and in the process he removed the top five Newport batsman.

Mahe Chowdhury (2-14) and John Clements (2-6), mopped up the tail, dismissing Newport for just 53 runs to secure a 126-run victory.

With second place Takeley, also going down Buntingford moved to top spot in Division One.

THERE was a first win of the season for Buntingford seconds as they saw off Newport seconds.

The visitors made a steady start against the tight bowling of Colin Chambers and Neil Atkins and reached 66 without loss after 22 overs.

However, once opener Dennison (33) had been dismissed by a brilliant catch from wicketkeeper Mike Townsend, the floodgates opened, and they collapsed, and as a result Newport were all out for 111.

In reply, Buntingford made a decent start with openers Lawrence and Lytton taking the score to 39 before Lawrence was dismissed for 16.

However, Lytton continued in steady fashion, and alongside Dookheran, Townsend and White, his 62 not out helped the hosts to 115 for 4 and a deserved victory.

A charity match between Buntingford Cricket Club and the staff at Somerfield has raised £210 for the MacMillan Cancer Charity.