Reed Village
The website of Reed Parish Council
Reed Cricket Club
Reed boasts a successful cricket club with
membership drawn not only from Reed but
also from the wider area. Its home is at Reed
Green and the Howard Marshall Pavilion.
With 3 teams on Saturdays and sometimes 2
on Sundays, RCC is always keen to recruit new
players of whatever standard: Girls and Boys,
Women or Men aged between 5 and 65+.
Non-Playing Members would be welcome too.
Join in the variety of Social events and enjoy
the bar facilities in the Howard Marshall
Pavilion.
A Brief History
Early Days
Although cricket has been played on and off at
Reed for perhaps up to 100 years or so, it was
in 1956 that the present cricket club was
formed. Older village residents recount that
both before and after the Second World War
matches were played in the middle meadows
at the back of The Cabinet public house. The
old oak tree (still standing) provided the
gathering point for spectators who invariably
included Charlie and Bertha Gilbey,
comfortable in their deck chairs and keeping
score.
The club formally sprang to life in 1956 from a
suggestion made by Joe Shepherd (our first
club captain) to some of the teenagers who
went to the youth club that met in the Mission
Hall (now a house) on the High Street. Joe
asked the boys whether they fancied playing
cricket and this led to them searching out what
was left of the old equipment, a few pads, bats
etc which had been used for those few years
after the war and which had been left in one of
the out-buildings at Goodfellows farm.
In that first summer about six matches were
played. Unfortunately no score book exists and
there were no match reports in the Royston
Crow, but it is known that none of the matches
were won, and draws were unheard of in those
days, when 50 was usually a comfortable
winning total.
The support of the Parish Council was sought
for home matches to be played on the Village
Green, which is under the control of the Parish
Council. The Green has become the club’s
home and nowadays without doubt is one of
the most attractive cricket grounds in the
region. The energy and determination of the
players and supporters to get the club
underway in 1956 has been matched
throughout the 60+ years as the club has
progressed and continued to improve facilities
and playing standards.
The Club within the village
The cricket club came about because of the
widespread support and a willingness to be
involved from much of the village population.
To turn the Green into a playing area took a lot
of time and effort, involving the local farmers,
the Parish Council as well as those keen to play.
Then there were ladies prepared to make teas,
people to score and umpire, and of course, The
Cabinet willing to serve 22 thirsty young men
with pints of shandy at the pub’s peak time on
a Saturday evening.
The club continues to enjoy village support and
since formally setting up the Colts section in
the 1980’s it has demonstrably encouraged
local boys and girls to be part of the club. The
Parish Council has consistently supported the
cricket club both by permitting the Green to be
used for cricket and by recognising that it has
been the cricket club that has maintained most
of the village Green in such a way that it could
be enjoyed by all. This attitude was exemplified
by the club’s application in 2005 for a “Local
Network Fund Grant” of £5,000 from the
Hertfordshire Community Foundation. This was
specifically in recognition of what the club had
achieved and was planning to do, to integrate
local youngsters into the club. Many village
youngsters have directly benefitted through
subsidised membership and playing fees and
through the provision of free kit and
equipment.
A similar source of funding is the Samuel
Beadie Welfare Fund. This money was donated
to the Club by Samuel Beadie Ltd as part of
their Reed CC Youth Cricket Sponsorship in
2008. The specific aim of this fund is to provide
support and financial assistance to any families
of youth team members where lack of funds
might compromise the ability of any youngster
to either join the club (Membership
Subscription) or play matches where match
fees would apply. The fund currently stands at
£350 and can be used at the discretion of the
Reed CC General Committee.
Relations with the school have been nurtured
in recent years, particularly through the good
offices of Peter McMeekin, a committee
member and also a school governor. This has
led to the school using the cricket ground for
practice and coaching, as well as a sharing
arrangement when tea urns / chairs / tables
are needed.
Cricket
The earliest surviving scorebook is for 1959
and the first report in The Crow of a fixture
involving Reed was on Saturday 6th July 1957
played at Aspenden. The scorecard read as
follows:-
Aspenden won by 117 runs.
Joe Shepherd’s 34 was recorded in the Crow’s
“Best of Week” list, but there was no mention
of Clayton’s 6 wickets.
With the exception of a brief sortie in the late
60’s into the Herts Competition, all matches
were friendlies until the club became founding
members of the North Herts League in 1983.
Historically leagues and cups did not feature in
the club cricket scene but by the 1980’s
increasing numbers of club cricketers were
seeking “more competitive” matches. That is
not to say that the so-called friendly matches
were not competitive! Over the years there
have been many local rivalries. Early on this
was particularly the case with Cockenach (not
helped when Reed batted on after tea, much to
the annoyance of Howard Marshall who was
then playing for Cockenach).
The North Herts League satisfied the thirst for
league cricket for about five years and also
enabled Reed to win some trophies – first as
League champions and regularly winners of the
“Brighter cricket award”. But by the late 1980’s
the club had grown stronger and was looking
for more challenging opposition. In 1988 it
joined the Hertfordshire League, then known
as the Laing Homes League and has been a
permanent member ever since. This means
that nowadays matches are played across the
whole of the county and beyond with clubs
from Bedfordshire and north London also
being allowed to enter.
The Herts League structure has changed over
the years and currently (2017) contains 27
Divisions each of 10 teams. It is accredited by
the ECB as a Premier League. For the past 15
years, Saracens Rugby Football Club has been
the League’s sponsors and it is officially known
as the Saracens Herts Premier Cricket League
(SHPCL). Reed First XI has been part of the
Championship Division since the League’s
latest re-structure in 2013. Being in that second
tier Reed have challenged for the one
guaranteed promotion spot to the Premiership
but have not quite managed it yet. As of 2017,
the Second XI is in Division 4B having won
three consecutive promotions as Champions of
their Divisions in 2013, 2014 and 2015. The
Third XI began in full-time competition in 2006
and play in Division 9A. Similarly, the Fourth XI
commenced their League campaign in 2009
and these teams, as well as the Sunday side
that continues to play friendlies, became the
ideal environment for Colts in the Under 13 age
group upwards to start playing alongside and
against adult players in what is known as
“Open-Age Cricket”. Many parents, who had
ceased playing years before, suddenly found
themselves being drafted-in to play in the same
team as their offspring. After some success, the
Fourths had to withdraw from the League
during 2017 because of a lack of availability
throughout the club. It follows that any player
dropping-out or being unavailable in any team
has a knock-on effect, and unfortunately the
Fourth team suffered.
Different Formats have been introduced.
Matches in the first 5 and last 4 weeks of each
season are limited overs (50/50) and the
middle 9 games are “timed” matches that can
end in a draw after 100 overs. (The First XI
plays matches containing up to 115 overs.) We
have also seen traditional white clothing and
red-ball cricket replaced in the Championship
Limited Overs matches by coloured kit and
pink balls. Reed wears their distinctive club
colours of Royal Blue trimmed with Yellow.
As well as Saturday League cricket and the
Sunday Friendlies, there have also been many
cup competitions and mid-week leagues over
the years. Reed has won more than their fair
share and always fielded strong teams over the
past 30 years. Generally however, player
availability in the district has dropped-off to
what it was a generation ago and it is problem
replicated nationwide.
Locally, the Keatley Cup was an evening mid-
week competition involving many nearby clubs
in North Herts and South Cambs. In recent
times Reed was a regular winner of the trophy
underlining the club’s strength in the local area.
However, the organisers at Royston CC had to
re-think this in 2016 when only a few clubs
showed any interest in entering. In its new
format, four teams battled-out a six-a-side
round-robin followed by a Final between the
top two teams. Reed’s sextet won the final
against a strong Lord’s Taverners side.
Unfortunately, Reed was unable to defend their
title in 2017 because of a clash in the fixtures
with a National Village Cup Quarter-Final
match. Read-on!
The National Village Cup holds every village
cricketer’s dream – namely the prospect,
however unlikely, of playing at the famous
Lord’s Cricket Ground which is known as the
Home of Cricket. Reed have entered in every
year since its inception in 1972 and the club’s
most successful year had been 1988 when it
lost to Hursley Park (Hampshire) in the
Quarter-Final. In those years more than 700
clubs entered the competition.
With again recognising cricket’s lack of
popularity as the national “summer sport”, less
than half that number of clubs participate
nowadays, but Reed continue to enter and in
the Hertfordshire & Bedfordshire Group are
likely to encounter strong Clubs comprising
good quality players. It is as easy to win a
round-or-two as it is to fall at the first hurdle.
As for village cricketers fulfilling their Lord’s
“dream”, how wonderful can it be that 14 Reed
players have had their dreams come true; eight
of them twice! In 2012, Reed overcame
Woodhouse Grange from Yorkshire in the
National Village Cup Final by chasing 184 for 9
and winning by 6 wickets. The team that day
contained three pairs of brothers and 10 of the
XI had come through Reed’s successful Colt’s
structure, (11 if you count the 12th Man). This
was our proudest moment and several
hundred supporters had travelled to St. John’s
Wood for this late-summer clash. James
Heslam captained the team on that Sunday
and it came one day after he had led the First
XI in their last Herts League match of the
season that saw them win their Division and
thus a place in the Championship Division with
the “big clubs”. Man of the Match in that 2012
Village Cup Final was 21-year-old Tom Greaves
who had taken 2 wickets and scored a half-
century. There had been useful runs from
James and Will Heslam, Chris Jackson and
Stuart Smith and wickets had fallen to Mitchell
Cooper (3), Lee Johnson (2), Jack Tidey and Karl
Ward.
Fast-forward 5 years, and Tom Greaves had
become Club Captain when Reed was matched
against two-time Village Cup winners Sessay
CC, also from Yorkshire. Along with Tom, James
and William Heslam, the Tideys, Jack and Sean,
Stuart Smith, Mitchell Cooper and Karl Ward
were all making their second appearances at
Lord’s. This time 9 of the XI were ex-Colts with
three more in the reserve / support group.
Making their debuts at Lord’s were batsmen
Richard Wharton and Rob Lankester and
opening bowler Toby Fynn. Greaves took 3
wickets this time, Ward added 2 as did Cooper
and Sean Tidey and Fynn had 1 apiece.
Wharton sparkled with 2 leg-side stumpings
and there were catches for Smith (2), Cooper,
Fynn and Ward. Sessay closed on 164 for 9
after 40 overs. Losing two early wickets in
response set the scene for James Heslam
batting at number 4, to join opener, Richard
Wharton, in a partnership of 107 that
effectively won the match for Reed. Heslam
was out for 54 when just 12 were required.
Wharton completed a memorable all-round
performance and was undefeated on 86 when
skipper Greaves slotted a six into the crowd to
win the match. Wharton was named Man of
the Match and upwards of 400 Reed
supporters celebrated the Club’s second
success in this prestigious national
competition.
Unbelievably only two years later, Reed's 1st XI
were back on the road to Lord's after a
triumphal run through the earlier rounds of the
National Village Cup with remarkably few
alarms. Batting first mostly, Reed set high
targets that opponents never got close to, or
when chasing modest totals, and perhaps
losing some wickets, the next batsmen
stepped-up. Accordingly, on a warm mid-
September Sunday, Reed were back in the
home dressing room at Lord's this time facing
Houghton Main CC, the third club from
Yorkshire that Reed had faced in their three
Cup Final appearances. Led again by Tom
Greaves the team included fellow two-time
winners James Heslam, Stuart Smith, Sean
Tidey, Jack Tidey and Mitchell Cooper as well as
Richard Wharton, Rob Lankester and Toby Fynn
from the 2017 team plus first-timers Marcus
Martin and Jack Caine.
Houghton ended their innings on 160 for 8
thanks to wickets falling to Sean Tidey (3 for40),
Jack Tidey (2 for 19), Cooper (2 for 37) and 1
from Fynn supported by superb ground
fielding and catching. However, in short time,
Reed were 15 for 2 in reply, but a 123-run
partnership between Greaves and vice-captain
Lankester virtually made the result a formality.
Lankester (59) fell before the end to be
replaced by James Heslam who with Greaves
(67 not out) finished the game one delivery into
the 27th over. But that comprehensive NVC
victory was just the icing on the cake for the
2019 season. The previous day, the 1st XI had
won a playoff match to gain promotion to the
Premier Division of the Hertfordshire League
for the first time in history and Reed is now one
of the top ten clubs in Herts. This had followed
the Second XI handsomely winning Division 4B
the week before. Now there was time to
celebrate!
Colts
The year 2006 was not just the club’s golden
anniversary; it also marked 30 years of Colts
cricket. In 1976 junior cricket in Hertfordshire
(and Cambridgeshire) was not organised as it is
today, and Steve Dunn started the Colts by
arranging a few games each season for a
mixed age group team of about a dozen local
lads, including the three Sharp brothers and
Peter Tidey. Nowadays virtually the only way
children can play cricket is by belonging to a
club. It therefore falls to the clubs to sustain
and promote interest in playing cricket among
teenagers. Our Colts section was given official
status in the 1980’s when Steve Dunn and
Andrew Emms (current Club President) gained
formal coaching qualifications. The Saturday
morning sessions on the Green were an
immediate hit with youngsters from all the
local villages and towns and numbers grew
steadily, peaking at 120 junior playing
members in 1999. Since then Buntingford,
Royston and Cokenach have followed Reed’s
example and formed junior sections, reducing
our numbers to about 30 each season.
Our Colts section is the lifeblood of the club. It
also reinforces the family values that the club
has always held so dear, and many of the Colts
have been the offspring of playing members.
These youngsters will have been involved with
the club virtually from the day they were born
and when they were old enough they
introduced their friends to cricket. Of course,
with their children showing interest, the
parents were keen to help with the running of
the Colts section, by coaching, umpiring,
scoring, chauffeuring and supporting. An ECB-
led imitative known as “All Stars” introduced in
2017 is aimed at attracting 5 to 8 year-olds and
up to 30 youngsters can be seen on Sunday
mornings learning their skills. Some are even
third generation Reed players.
In this connection mention has to be made of
Cilla Robertson, who has supervised the Colts
section for more than 20 years. Through her
exemplary organisation, enthusiasm and
persuasiveness, Reed Colts has become
renowned throughout Hertfordshire and
Cambridgeshire. Cilla continues to be active in
the Club by also serving on the Club Committee
as our Welfare Officer. More than twenty Club
players have qualified as ECB Coaches since
those early days.
The Club also rewards the Colts with their
achievements. Each year, shortly before the
start of the season, an awards evening is held
in the pavilion. This is always well attended and
helps to rekindle interest in cricket after eight
months of almost non-stop football!
Ground and Pavilion
The village Green is often referred to as
common land. Whether or not this is an
accurate description, it is certain that the use of
the Green is subject to by-laws introduced in
1937 by the Parish Council with the consent of
none other than the Minister of Health! These
bylaws come under the provisions of the
Inclosure Act 1857 and the Commons Act 1876.
These broadly protect the use of the land “as a
place for exercise and recreation”, and if a
person is caught “shaking a rug”, or “wilfully
destroying a birds egg”, or “interrupting the
proper use of the ground”, they will be liable
“to a fine not exceeding the sum of TWO
POUNDS”!!! Perhaps the Club was guilty when it
used to have its egg catching competition
during cricket week?
So the use of the Green for games and
recreational purposes was well established
before the Second World War, but this had to
be interrupted during the war period when all
available land was put over to agriculture (the
“Dig for Victory” campaign). When the Parish
Council was asked in 1956 for the Green to be
reclaimed for its proper purpose and
specifically for cricket, the request clearly had
the support of the bylaws made 20 years
previously.
Transforming the Green from farmed land to a
cricket ground was a huge project and
although some farm equipment was able to be
used, for example, a seed driller, for the first
few seasons the pitch itself was cut by a hand
push mower and the outfield cut down by
sickles. Fred Rand’s roller was used at the
beginning of the seasons, and by the late
1950’s gang mowers were used. In the early
1960’s a Dennis sit-on mower was acquired.
Cutting the outfield using the Dennis was at
least a three-hour job and for many years until
his death it was invariably Stan Ford who did
this job. He happily performed this task at least
fortnightly during the summer and the Green
soon became an excellent outfield.
The cricket square itself improved season by
season, initially through regular cutting and
rolling and then by some more specialist
attention from Fraser Field who joined the club
in 1963. Fraser was a landscape contractor and
spent many hours working on the ground,
particularly the square which he extended to
six strips. Usefully, he also employed Clive
Collins, who has continued to provide expert
input to the maintenance of the ground to the
present day. Interestingly Fraser was the first
Reed player to score a hundred, which was
against Therfield. Clearly he recognised the
value of preparing good pitches – at least for
batsmen!
Since the late 1980’s the ground has been
managed by Richard Robertson, whose
determination to produce the best possible
playing surface, has bordered on devotion
beyond the realms of duty! Richard will be seen
either preparing or repairing wickets almost
every evening throughout the summer. During
the close season he is probably seen only two
or three times a week! The result of this
attention is of course a ground to be proud of.
Not just excellent playing conditions for
cricketers but also a very attractive and well
maintained village green enjoyed by the whole
community.
It is also Richard who created the new pitches
away from the road and who ensured that the
colts have good and safe playing surfaces for
both matches and practices. In the autumn of
2019 and having to comply with strict criteria
to participate in Premier league cricket, the
club has invested in major pitch work that
involved 10 pitches being dug-up and re-laid.
Only time will tell if the surfaces become
bouncier and quicker.
The pavilion is a huge asset for the club. Built in
1976/7 on land purchased from the District
Council, it has enabled the club to offer first
class facilities to members, guests and
opposition alike. The pavilion has been
constructed in three phases and each phase
has been built using club member’s skills and
labour.
Howard Marshall was the driving force for the
first pavilion, and he would often relate the
story of fitting the roof tiles during a
snowstorm – such was his devotion to the
project. This commitment has been repeated
twice since. In 1986 the pavilion was doubled in
size, giving more spacious changing
accommodation. This again was led by Howard
Marshall with much assistance from John
Heslam. By this time Howard had become Club
President and John, Club Chairman.
The latest extension was completed in 2005.
This was managed by John Heslam, who used
his unique powers of persuasion to enthuse
and involve club members in the project. The
commitment of Peter McMeekin and Graham
Smith is worthy or particular note. These
building works have always had to be carried
out in the winter months to avoid clashing with
the cricket season, and throughout the 2003/04
winter, Peter and Graham acted as “mates” to
the specialist tradesmen. They did all the
labouring, fetching and carrying in some of the
coldest and wettest weather. But their efforts
were appreciated and the outcome is a first
class clubhouse, attractive visually and
comfortable internally.
The substantial use of club members labour
has not only meant good value for money with
higher specifications being achieved from the
finance available, but also has helped to
maintain the excellent club spirit and
ownership of the club by its members. Reed is
not a “pay and play” club like so many
nowadays. More commitment is demanded of
its members and usually happily given.
Just before his death in 2017, the Club
Committee were pleased to inform Howard
that the Clubhouse would be named The
Howard Marshall Pavilion in his honour.
Management and Administration
The strength of the club has not been, and is
not, confined to the cricket itself. With every
successful organisation, there is an excellent
team behind the scenes. Reed Cricket Club is
no exception.
Norman Reffell joined the club in 1959 and he
is regarded as the person who shaped the club
organisationally. He introduced the club
rules/constitution and made sure there were
regular commitee meetings and AGMs.
Norman was a cricket lover and he took his
cricket very seriously. The writer met him on
just two occasions but both times Norman
spoke with huge affection for, and knowledge
of, the sport, and especially for Reed Cricket
Club.
By the early 70’s Neil Marsh, John Raven,
Howard Marshall and Mike Taylor were the
principal influences within the club’s
administration. Neil Marsh negotiated the
excellent deal with the council to purchase the
land for the pavilion, the funding of which was
not just from the sponsored bike ride, but also
included successful applications prepared by
Howard Marshall to the National Playing Fields
Association and the Lords Taverners.
Since that time there have been many people
involved with the management of the Club, and
a good proportion have been non-playing
members. Keith Collins not only umpired for
over 30 years, he has served on the bar
committee. Joe Dunn, Rosemary Collins, Dennis
Easley, Roger Fulk, Jonathan Fynn, Peter
McMeekin, Cilla Robertson, Graham & Bethan
Smith and Peter Wholley have made major
contributions to the Club’s ongoing success. So
too have former or current players Roger
Bowcock, Clive Collins, Michael Curtis, Andrew
Emms, Richard Robertson, Scott Rouse, Paul
Watts, and Peter Baker.
In modern times, however, there has been one
individual who has been the driving force
behind the club. John Heslam joined Reed in
1981. After a few years he became Club
Chairman and has ensured the Club has grown
and improved in all directions, whilst still living
within its means. He and the General
Committee have set excellent foundations for
the next generation to inherit. In recent years,
the make-up of the Committee had begun to
involve younger, current players who wished to
take-on responsibility in Club affairs and when
“JQH” did not seek re-election to the Committee
in 2016, that “next generation” did step-up to
leadership when Stuart Smith was elected
Chairman, albeit with a few long-serving
Committee members at his side to advise him.
The next 50 years
So where to now? Will cricket still be played in
Reed in 2056? I would like to think so. But I am
not naive enough to imagine that it will be
played and organised as it is today. Almost
inevitably, pressure on people’s time will
continue to increase and hopefully people will
become even more affluent. This will probably
mean that at sometime in the future the Club
will contract out much of the work that is
currently done by members, for example, a
paid groundsman.
The first 50 years have shown how the game in
Reed has moved on, partly reflecting external
factors such as greater wealth, need for greater
competition, but mostly because of a basic love
of the game and an enjoyment of the company
of others, without which team sports will not
survive.
Reed Cricket Club is, and always has been more
than a cricket team, and its continuation will
depend more on its ability to maintain its
family-based culture than on its ability to win
cricket matches. I strongly believe the second
inevitably follows the first.
The immediate future of the club is bright and
celebrating the golden anniversary will keep
the spirit and enjoyment of being part of a
successful and historic club alive.
With such a sound history, I am confident that
Reed Cricket Club will prosper for the next 50
years and I would like to think that I will be
there to celebrate the century, something that
has always eluded me(!) but in reality I think it
always will.
Steve Dunn (2006)
Based on Steve Dunn’s ‘History of Reed Cricket
Club 1956 – 2006’ (The Golden Anniversary)
Updated contributions by Peter McMeekin, (June
2011).
Updated contributions by Peter Baker (September
2017 and October 2019).
Aspenden
R Miller b S Shepherd 3
R Skipp run out 57
B Liles c Sharp b J Shepherd 11
J Crane b J Shepherd 0
L Mole b Fardell 8
B Dickerson retired 68
C Clayton b J Shepherd 19
D Mole not out 10
J Poulton not out 0
R Clayton Did not bat.
F Knight Did not bat.
Extras 10
Total 186 for 6 wkts
Reed
D Shepherd b Mole 1
G Sharp b C Clayton 0
A Shepherd st Miller b C Clayton 0
L Bysouth b C Clayton 1
N Fardell b C Clayton 3
J Shepherd b Crane 34
S Shepherd b C Clayton 1
S Brown c Mole b C Clayton 0
D Collins lbw b Liles 16
C Collins c Crane b Liles 7
R Bysouth not out 6
Extras 0
Total 69