After finishing June with a win against eventual champions Chelmsford, hopes were high for July. However, they were bought back down to earth on the 1st July with a heavy defeat at Wanstead. Arfan Akram and Hassan Chowdhury both made centuries as the home side piled up 315-5 from their 50 overs. Connor Whetstone picked up four wickets for the visitors. In reply several batsmen got starts, most notably Shaffiq Rahman who made 55, but it was not enough as Upminster were bowled out for 181.

A week later and a poor batting display against old rivals Hornchurch plunged Upminster into deeper relegation trouble. Julian Whetstone’s 28 was the top score as Matt Tigg’s side were bundled out for 156 before 66 from Brian Barnard steered the Urchins to a seven wicket win.

A mid month win was much needed against Chingford and it duly arrived after fine innings from Shahbaz (94) and Louis Pickering (58) helped take Upminster to 253-7. Connor Whetsone then ran through Chingford’s middle order, taking 4-35, and although Chingford’s last pair put up some resistance they closed on 210-9 as Upminster won by 43 runs.

The weather caused frustration on the final two Saturdays of the month. The home game with Ilford was a complete washout, and after making 187 at Brentwood a week later, the rain came to wipe out the second innings.

In contrast, the 2nd XI enjoyed a fine July, although the month started with a defeat. Kiran Kullar made an imperious 77 but received little support as Ollie Peck’s men were dismissed for 159 by Wanstead. Wanstead were then cruising to victory before Max Carter-Miller and Nicky Ison picked up a flurry of wickets, but Wanstead squeezed home by two wickets.

Kullar was in the runs again the following week as Peck’s side swept past Loughton. The captain himself picked up a five wicket haul as Loughton made 179, before Kullar then made 61, and with help from Adam Quested and Harry Jenkins, Upminster won by seven wickets. They made it two wins in two weeks in their next outing against Shenfield. Martin Allen, not of West Ham fame, struck a marvellous 102 for Shenfield as they made 249-5 from their 45 overs, and despite several Upminster batsmen making starts they looked out of the game with 10 overs remaining. However, Adam Quested and Nathan Woods had other ideas and their partnership turned the game on it’s head as Upminster won by two wickets with two balls to spare.

Rain stopped them making it three wins in three the week after as the game with Brentwood was washed out, but they picked up their third win of the month on July’s final weekend. James Evans made a brilliant 108 not out, and Kiran Kullar struck 53 as Upminster posted a commanding total before rain interrupted the Buckhurst Hill reply and Upminster won by virtue of a better run rate.

The 3rd XI began July with two wins in a row, and the first of those was down to the all-round skills of Mark Schofield. “Schoi” took 6-53 as Harlow were restricted to 192, before striking a brilliant 102 not out to guide Upminster to a seven wicket win. Nickhil Mayor also made an excellent 40. A week later and Shenfield were brushed aside as Andrew Berry’s 4-8 saw them bowled out for 160. Mayor then made 55, and with help from Steve Limn, Schofield and Jake Giddings Upminster raced to an eight wicket win from just 19.5 overs.

Just as talk of a possible title challenge began the side were bought crashing back down to earth with a defeat against bottom of the table Hutton. A lacklustre bowling and fielding display allowed Hutton to make 199-8 from their 45 overs before Upminster fell to 31-7 in reply. Rob Mack and Paul Middlemiss mended some of the damage with a century stand but they were bowled out for 138 to fall to a 61 run loss. The final two matches of the month were then washed out. Firstly the away game at Wanstead where the visitors were 119-2 when the rain came and then the home game with Woodford Wells where a close finish was in prospect before conditions got to bad to continue.

The 4th XI moved nearer to the title after starting the month with two fine victories. Jake Giddings made his maiden senior ton, a brilliant unbeaten 112, in the contest against Harlow at the start of the month, and with Steve Limn adding 88 and Tom Larke taking four wickets Upminster cruised to a 59 run win. A week later and a real team batting display (six players going past 20) enabled Josh Lamont’s side to reach 244-6 against Old Southendians. Veteran Karim Govani then picked up four wickets to bowl out the Old Boys for 129.

Orsett and Thurrock proved to strong the following week as they won by 92 runs, and the game with Gidea Park and Romford was then washed out. The month finished with a disappointing performance against Hornchurch. Only Ant Limn and Alex Halliwell made an impression with the bat before Hornchurch strolled to a six wicket win.

The 5th XI started the month with a five wicket win over Belhus, thanks to an excellent 51 not out from Tom Daniels, but were well beaten the following week as 33 from captain Scott Fisher was not enough to stop a powerful Brentwood side picking up a deserved win. The third Saturday of the month saw another defeat, this time to Loughton, as three wickets from Matthew Bright and 47 from Mark Hoptop were not quite enough as they lost by 13 runs. The month finished with two abandonments, against Ilford and Shenfield, to leave the side in mid table moving into August.

July was an excellent month for the 6th XI as they completed their fixtures unbeaten!! Captain Ray Calder and Max Gordon were the heroes with the bat as the team began the month with a thrilling one wicket over Chingford, and they followed this up the next week with a six wicket win over Hornchurch thanks to 60 from Mark Hortop and 33 from Ian Munn. Week three of July saw Brian Martin take 5-9 as Harold Wood were rolled out for 109 before Michael Jones and Ben Hamberger rescued the Upminster innings and took their side to a two wicket win. The following week’s game with Gidea Park and Romford was washed out before the month finished with a friendly win over Oakfield Parkonians after Walthamstow conceded the league fixture.

The highlight of the month was the 1st XI’s stunning performance against Hornchurch in the T20 Semi Finals at Billericay CC. Batting first Shahbaz got Upminster off to a fine start with 50 from 27 balls before Alan Ison took over, smashing the ball to all parts as he made 76 from 38 balls and helped his side to 190-3. John Curtis struck early in the Hornchurch reply, and despite 67 from Ronnie Saunders, Hornchurch were never in the game, closing on 145-6. The final against Wanstead was one game to far for Matt Tigg’s men as they were beaten by 102 runs.

In the Sunday League there was a comfortable win over Buckhurst Hill, before two washouts , both on the same day, against Bardoli and Chelmsford.
Matt Peters 88 was the highlight of a Sunday 2s defeat to Woodford Green before Josh Mason produced one of the performances of the season to help the side to a win over Orsett and Thurrock. Nicky Ison and Mark Hortop had made half centuries to help Upminster to 217-4 and the game was moving towards a tight finish when Mason was bought back into the attack. He then struck three times in three balls to claim the first hattrick of his career and help his side to a 22 run win.

The Windmill Whack moved towards the conclusion of the group stage with several games taking place. The Club’s first Fun Day saw the Kalijeera Kings pick up a shock win over the Chairman’s Choice while Ben Calder’s 76 was the highlight of the Roots 22 run win over the Govani Maestros. Louis Pickering made 51 as the Apple Finance Firebirds beat the Kings to keep alive their hopes of making Finals Day and the Choice then bounced back to form, seeing off the Hunter Hurricanes in a low scoring thriller. The Roots Finals Day prospects were then left in the balance as they fell to a heavy defeat against the revitalised Firebirds.

TEAM PERFORMANCE OF THE MONTH : 1st XI v Hornchurch, T20 Semi Final - Ison and Butt in destructive mood to help see of old friends and rivals Hornchurch

INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES OF THE MONTH: Mark Schofield's (Saturday 3rd XI) all round brilliance v Harlow; Jake Giddings' (Saturday 4th XI) maiden senior ton against Harlow; Josh Mason's (Sunday 2nd XI) hattrick to seal win v Orsett and Thurrock