It's another important weekend for Upminster as the end of the league season gets closer.

The 1st XI are unbeaten in five games, and welcome 7th placed Hainault and Clayhall to Upminster Park (12 noon).  Upminster eased past Gidea Park last Saturday, while Hainault were also victorious, beating high flying Chelmsford, so this should be a closely fought encounter.

After last week's game fell foul to the weather, the 2nd XI this week travel to struggling Chingford (1.00pm).  Chingford will be looking for a victory to aid their fight against relegation.  They currently lie in 9th position.  Upminster are currently 5th in the table, but with the league looking very congested, they could yet gain a top two finish with a good end to the season.

Chris Cully's 3rd XI were also hit by the weather last week as their game at South Woodford was also washed out, but they face a crucial encounter this week as they travel to West Essex (1.00pm).  Cully's men currently lie 7th in the table, while West sit a couple of places behind in 9th, so this clash is an important fixture for both sides.  The 4th XI welcome Walthamstow 3s to Coopers School and will be looking to get their promotion bid back on track (1.00pm).  Will Sissen's side suffered a loss last week against Brentwood, but they still top the table with three weeks to go.  Stow are not out of the promotion picture themselves at this stage and currently sit 4th in the table.

The 5th XI know nothing less than a win will do when they travel to Hutton 4s.  Karim Govani's team are currently in the relegation places and are 19 points adrift of 8th place Hutton.  Govani's side were well beaten by Southend 3s last time out, while Hutton had the better of a draw with Old Parkonians.  The 6th XI have pulled away from the drop zone over the last couple of weeks, and they will be looking to secure their status for next season with a win over West Essex 4s at Coopers School (both games 1.00pm).

There is no 7th XI game this Saturday.

On Sunday the 2nd XI complete their Essex Sunday League campaign with a home game against Billericay (1.00pm), the Sunday 3s are away at Epping (2.00pm), and the Acadmey side travel to North Enfield (2.00pm) for their latest fixture. 

Upminster's Beth Langston starred for the Women's ECB Development XI as they clinched the European Championships in Stirling, Scotland.

Langston played in all three games and produced excellent figures with the ball of 10-1-35-1 (against Holland), 10-3-20-1 (against Scotland) and 6-1-13-0 (against Ireland).   The ECB side, captained by Ardleigh Green's Jo Cook, won the tournament on run rate, while the Netherlands came second and clinched their spot in the World Cup.

For full details of the tournament and results and photos, please go to: http://www.icc-europe.org/EUROWOMEN/index.shtml

It was a mixed weekend for Upminster's Senior sides, with rain playing a big part in Saturday's games, and some disappointing results on Sunday.

On Saturday the 1st XI boosted their hopes of Premier Division survival with a 5 wicket victory over Gidea Park.  Park were asked to bat first and were 117-7 at one stage before recovering to make 214 as they were bowled out in the last over.  In reply Alan Ison made 43 before Terry Wyatt and the in-form Akbar Jabhar saw Upminster home with time and wickets to spare.

Heavy rain meant an early end to the 2nd XI contest at South Woodford with Upminster 69-5 at the time, while the 3rd XI game on the adjacent pitch did not even start due to the wet weather.

Alex Ward hit his maiden senior century (110) for the 4th XI in their game with Brentwood, at Coopers School.  However, Ward received little support, with the next top score being 13, as Upminster reached 191-7 in their innings.  In reply Brentwood got off to a good start and never looked back as they got home by 6 wickets with plenty of time to spare.  

The 5th XI fell into deeper relegation trouble with a 71 run defeat at Southend 3s.  Upminster bowled and fielded well to work their way through the Southend batting and dismiss them for 161.  Skipper Karim Govani picked up 4-20 and Jono Murphy returned figures of 2-17.  In reply Upminster reached 28-0 and 61-2 before collapsing to 90 all out.  Young Frankie Hazel top scored with 21.  The 6th XI eased their relegation fears when Wickford 4th XI could not raise a side meaning 20 points for Upminster.

On Sunday it was disappointment in the Essex T20 as Upminster fell to a semi-final defeat to Buckhurst Hill.  Batting first Alan Ison and Terry Wyatt looked in good form as Upminster reached 60-1 in the fifth over.  However, they then lost wickets regularly and were only able to reach 127-9 from their 20 overs.  In reply Hill got off to a fast start but a fine spell from
James Aggio-Brewe dragged Upminster back into the game.  It was not to be though as Hill got home with 9 balls and 4 wickets in hand.  South Woodford were too strong for Buckhurst Hill in the final as they won the Essex T20 and move forward to the Area Finals.

It was disappointment to for the Sunday 2s as their promotion hopes were ended by Basildon.  In a game reduced to 30 overs a side Upminster were well beaten despite the batting efforts of Nathan Woods.  

The one bright spot on Sunday was Ted Green's U13s reaching the semi finals of the Peter Coe Cup.  Gidea Park were not able to raise a side for the group clash, meaning Upminster progressed with a 100% record.

The Under 13s will play their Peter Coe Cup Semi-Final at Billericay CC next Monday (23rd August) at 1.00pm.

The opposition for this tie is not yet confirmed.  The other Semi-Final will take place on the adjacent pitch at the same time.

This is the first time the Club has reached this stage of the competition, and all support will be appreciated as the boys try to reach the final at Chelmsford.