REED II put two disappointing draws behind them on Saturday when they beat Rickmansworth II by 184 runs.

Skipper Baz Curtis again won the toss and had no hesitation in batting on a wicket that looked full of runs.

Within two hours he was proved right but, unfortunately for three out of top four batsmen, it had no runs in it at all. Curtis himself was unfortunate to be the first duck of the day quickly followed by William Heslam and Richard Johnson.

At 9-3 and 57-5 it looked like a terror track thanks to a fine opening spell from the home skipper, Andy Milner, who took 4-28 from nine overs at one stage.

Fergus Martin and old brother Marcus tried to steady the ship and managed to see some shine off the new ball, but both fell to good catches when looking set.

This brought together a mixture of youth and experience as William Clarke and Jack Tidey were paired in the middle. Both began to find the boundary at regular intervals as Reed started to put their opponents under pressure. Tidey soon outscored his senior partner and hit his 50 with six 4s and two big 6s.

It wasn’t all big hitting and some excellent running kept the board ticking over. Tidey finally went for an excellent 86. The pair had put on 153 for the sixth wicket and it was now just a matter of how many overs Reed wanted to give the home side. Clarke was now in full flow and decided it was time to try to hit his first ever six. Unfortunately his straight drive fell just a yard short.

Mitchell Cooper had joined Clarke (77*) and scored a brisk 21* and pushed the total to 254 and brought about Reed’s declaration.

The track still looked flat and Reed knew 250 was gettable. Opening bowlers Kallum Ward and Chris Peckett had other ideas. Ward struck with the score on five and again on 16 when he bounced Flynn out for two, Peckett taking the catch. Peckett struck in the next over to leave the home side 16-3.

Reed, having been in a similar position, were still weary of a fight back, but Ward took a good caught and bowled and a run-out from Richard Johnson saw Rickmansworth 24-4.

Ward struck again at the end of his seven-over spell and at 35-7, the only hope for the hosts was an inspired showing from the lower order.

The two Molloy’s held out for a few overs moving the score 46 when the dependable Peter Tidey bowled T Molloy for eight. He then had A Molloy caught behind for 25 and it was almost over. Ward returned and wrapped up the innings with his second ball back. He finished with 5-16 from 7.2 overs, another league best for the youngster.