Youngsters show way as Reed grab draw
REED seconds hosted Eversholt seconds on Saturday, in the hope of kick-starting their league campaign with their first win of the season. Brothers Ben and Matt Bowles opened the innings for Reed and went about the task of building a total in a typically
REED seconds hosted Eversholt seconds on Saturday, in the hope of kick-starting their league campaign with their first win of the season.
Brothers Ben and Matt Bowles opened the innings for Reed and went about the task of building a total in a typically cautious manner.
Despite a few scares, particularly for Matt Bowles, the pair successfully negotiated the tricky conditions to see off the opening bowlers. Their opening stand yielded 64 runs, before Matt Bowles was finally out, being caught for a gritty 38.
Reed then suffered a batting collapse, going from 64-1 to 78-6, with John Heslam and Chris Shorrock both failing to worry the scorers.
Ed Garrott (5) and Karl Ward (9) also succumbed to good bowling, and to add to their woes, Ben Bowles, pictured right, soon followed for 18.
With a measly total on the cards, the job of salvaging the innings fell on the shoulders of Richard Robertson (43) and Steve Lovegrove (40) and their partnership steadied the ship, and built a respectable and challenging total, with Reed finishing on 183-9 off their 53 overs.
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Eversholt struggled early on in their innings, and the pace of Andy Young was clearly unsettling for their opening batsmen.
And against the bowling of Jim Allsopp, Eversholt found themselves two wickets down before they had reached the 18th over.
However, a good partnership saw the game swing in their favour, and lifted them to 100-2.
But Reed introduced youngsters Garrott and Ward - a move that proved to be a masterstroke.
Ward bowled superbly, and was unfortunate to take only one wicket in his spell, while Garrott stole the show with his clever off spin.
The youngster took five wickets for 50 runs, in what was a tense and nervy finish.
A late show from Eversholt's captain Singleton nearly won the game for the visitors, but his Reed counterpart Jason Archer, along with Garrott, held their nerve to leave Eversholt three runs short of victory on 180-8 off of their 47 overs and help secure a valuable away draw.
