With the outfield at local friends Ardleigh Green being unfit for action, the 1st XI had to go straight into their League Cup contest on the 23rd April as they travelled to Woodford Green of Division 3 for their first round encounter. Shahbaz was straight into his stride as he struck a majestic 112 from 92 balls, and with runs also coming from opening partner Shafiq Rahman, skipper Alan Ison and youngster Louis Pickering, Upminster were able to reach 276-7 from their 45 overs. A rusty bowling display followed, but three wickets from Matt Tigg helped dismiss the home side for 222.

Back at Upminster Park the result was a little more clear cut. James Evans, Mark Schofield and Adam Quested were all in the runs as the home side amassed 262-5 in their friendly encounter. The Green reply never got going and four wickets from the captain, Nicky Ison, saw Green dismissed 98. (Photos)

The following Saturday saw four sides in action, but the star of the show was once again Shabhaz. He made 101 from 105 balls while the skipper continued his good start to the season with 87 as Upminster made 279-6 at Premier Division Ilford in the second round of the League Cup. Ilford were always up against it in reply, and Matt Tigg picked up three more wickets as Upminster caused a big upset.

The other three sides were all involved in friendlies. Max Carter Miller returned the best figures of the season at that point (5-50) as the 2nd XI pipped Ilford by 4 runs. The 3rd XI eased past Harold Wood with Janhoi Bean Wilson and Oliver White starring, and a youthful 5th XI cruised past Belhus with wickets for youngster Will Frost and runs for veterans Paul Middlemiss and Joe Wyatt.

Sunday saw a trip down memory lane as the Matchplay Finalists from 1996 took on a Guest and Club XI at Upminster Park (Photos). An even contest was eventually won by the Club and Guest XI, and then on Bank Holiday Monday the 1st XI put in an impressive performance in the National Cup to see off Cockfosters. Frankie Hazle and Terry Wyatt both made half centuries and Julian Whetstone picked up four wickets as Upminster progressed by 42 runs. (Photos)

League action finally began on 7th May, but it was not a good start for the 1st XI. Chasing 205 for victory Upminster made a poor start losing early wickets. Terry Wyatt and Connor Whetstone passed 50 in a gutsy recovery but they fell in quick succession, and Upminster were bowled out for 194. It was a very different story for the 2nd XI as they thrashed Wanstead at Upminster Park. Nicky Ison returned amazing figures of 8-37 as Wanstead were bundled out for 136, and while Upminster made a nervous start to their reply James Aggio-Brewe helped them get home by five wickets.

The 3rd XI, who only just maintained their Premier Division status at the end of the 2015 season, started their 2016 league campaign with a thrilling one wicket win over old friends Woodford Wells. Upminster appeared to be cruising towards their target of 184 but then lost five wickets for 15 runs and needed the calm head of Elliot Bussey to see them home by one wicket. There were no such problems for the 4th XI as four wickets for Karim Govani and runs for Kiran Kullar and Stewart Hammond saw them thrash local rivals Hornchurch. There were also impressive victories for the 5th and 6th XIs over Buckhurst Hill and Harlow Town respectively. Joe Wyatt, with a quickfire century, and Nathan Bright with five wickets were the heroes for the 5th XI while Ian Twine and Ansar Khan (six wickets on debut) were the star performers for the 6th XI.

Sunday saw the 1st XI exit the National Cup against Hornchurch despite a hundred from Julian Whetstone, while the 2nd XI fell to a friendly defeat against Oakfield Parkonians.

Week two of league action saw the 1st XI pick up their first win, against Hadleigh. Alan Ison was the star of the show with four wickets and an unbeaten 90 as Upminster cruised to a six wicket win. The 2nd XI were bought down to earth with a bump as they were well beaten by a strong Chelmsford side, but the 3rd XI continued their good form with a nine wicket win against Loughton, Bean-Wilson again in the runs.

Stewart Hammond made an unbeaten 87 not out for the 4th XI, and with Oliver White and George Sadek in the wickets they beat Harold Wood by 59 runs. There were plenty of runs at Campion School as the 5th XI drew with Loughton. Paul Middlemiss and Mike Harrison both made centuries as Upminster piled up 334-3. Tony Greywal made a century in reply though as Loughton batted out for the draw at 171-4. The 6th XI moved to the top of the early season standings without lifting a finger as Hutton conceded to hand Paul Scott's men 25 points.

Sunday 15th saw the start of the summer's T20 action as Upminster followed up Saturday's win with an easy win over the same opposition while a wonderful hundred from Arun Kullar helped the Sunday 2s to a win over Willesden Green.

The third week of the League season saw the 1st XI have the better of a draw with Southend at Southchurch Park. A third century of the season for Shahbaz and 66 from opening partner Shafiq Rahman helped Upminster to reach 282-6, and three wickets from Connor Whetstone helped restrict the home side to 204-8. A draw was also the result in the 2nd XI fixture between the same sides. In a low scoring encounter James Aggio-Brewe continued his consistent form with 44 but Upminster were dismissed for 168. An excellent bowling and fielding display then restricted Southend to 126-7.

Performance of the day went to the 3rd XI who overcame 2015 champions Chelmsford at Chelmer Park. Oliver Peck picked up 5-22 as the home side were dismissed for 119. Upminster stuttered in reply but 31 not out from veteran Rob Mack saw them to a three wicket success. The 4th XI fell to defeat against Chelmsford, their first loss of the season, despite a brilliant all round performance from Oliver White, while the 5th XI returned to winning ways at Oakfield Parkonians thanks to runs from Ansar Khan and a wonderful six wicket haul for Jamie Squance. The 6th XI remained unbeaten as they produced a solid performance to draw with Parkonians at Campion School.

Sunday the launch of the inaugural Windmill Whack as a large crowd came to Upminster Park to see the opening two matches. Game one saw the Govani Maestros prove too strong for the Apple Finance Firebirds before an exciting contest in game two saw the Costcutter Cobras squeeze home with eight balls to spare against the Root 66'ers. (Match Day 1 Photos)

The final Saturday of the month saw the 1st XI continue their good form with a comfortable win over Harold Wood in the local derby at Upminster Park. The spin twins of Tigg and Connor Whetstone picked up four wickets each before Frank Hazle made a half century as Upminster won by six wickets (Photos). Eight batsmen made double figures for the 2nd XI but they could not pass 200 as they closed on 192-8 at Colchester. Billy Wright produced his best spell of the season in the reply as Colchester were forced to block out for a draw.

The 3rd XI stayed top of the table after overcoming Brentwood. Andrew Berry rolled back the years to pick up six wickets before a wonderful 74 not out from U15 Alfie James saw Upminster to a three wicket win. There were three draws for the next three teams to finish the month. The 4th XI just held on with high flying Hainault as the experienced heads of Govani and Kevin Roome stood firm for the tenth wicket. The 5th XI were denied victory at Wanstead despite runs for Paul Middlemss and a three wicket burst from Will Frost, and the 6th XI could not cash in on 84 each from Sohail Iqbal and Jake Giddings as Hornchurch played out for the draw in their derby encounter.

The month finished with two defeats on the Sunday as the 1st XI were well beaten at Shenfield in the T20 Cup and the 2nd XI lost at Gorsebrook (in a 1st XI Sunday League fixture) despite 56 from Arun Kullar.