REED were relegated to Division 2 of the Saracens Hertfordshire Cricket League on Saturday, following a nine-wicket defeat at basement-club Hoddesdon. Batting first, Reed got off to a poor start and lost openers Michael Curtis (6) and W Dobson (12) cheap

REED were relegated to Division 2 of the Saracens Hertfordshire Cricket League on Saturday, following a nine-wicket defeat at basement-club Hoddesdon.

Batting first, Reed got off to a poor start and lost openers Michael Curtis (6) and W Dobson (12) cheaply.

Joe Curk was next to fall for 29 and with the score on 52-3, Reed were in big trouble.

All-rounder Chris Jackson steadied the ship with a patient 57 from 89 balls, but after he was dismissed by Martin Brown, Reed's innings collapsed.

Philip Frenay (16) and Stuart Smith (10) were the only other players to make it into double figures, as Reed's innings eventually came to a close on 162-9 from 48 overs.

Chief destroyer for Hoddesdon was Martin Brown, who returned figures of 3-52 from his 16 overs.

Hoddesdon's reply got off to an inauspicious start, and opener Matt Byrne was trapped lbw by Reed captain Andy Young for 2.

But this was as good as it got for the visitors, and two fine unbeaten half-centuries from Nick Gandon (60 not out) and Rory Coutts (83 not out) guided Hoddesdon home with 12.3 overs to spare.

Defeat for Reed saw Hoddesdon leap-frog them into 9th place, and condemned them to cricket at a lower level next season.