It took eight attempts, but it was worth the wait as the 1st XI got their first win of the season with a 213 win over Woodford Wells on Saturday afternoon. Nicky Ison won the toss and had no hesitation in deciding to bat, and he then sat back to watch Farid and Kiran Kullar put on a century for the first wicket. Farid fell for 74 from just 51 balls but Kullar continued to work the ball around as Louis Pickering cut loose. Pickering made a run a ball 66 before departing and then the middle order upped the ante further. Shahbaz made 26 from 18, Alan Ison 42 from 21, James Evans 22 from 15 and Ejaz 15 from 7 as Upminster piled up
the runs. Kullar eventually fell for an excellent 70, but the home side were able to reach a massive 365-9 from their 50 overs.

Despite having a huge score on the board, Upminster may still have been a little nervous at halfway as they had been without a League win all season, but they needn’t have worried.
John Curtis and Ejaz did the early damage as Wells were reduced to 43-5 and then the spin of veteran Ollie Peck and Nabeel Aziz was to much for the Wells middle order as wickets continued to tumble. Captain Jonathan Gaffney stood firm to make a solid 57, but it was all in vain as his side were bowled out for 152, Peck finishing with 4-12. (Scorecard)

Dave Lock and his colleagues from Locksafe Windows, who were Match Sponsors for the day, will have been impressed with the Upminster performance, and we thank Dave
and his Team for their continued support.

The 2nd XI continued their excellent form with a hard fought win at Brentwood. Billy Wright won the toss and saw the returning Steve Mack help his side make 241-5 from their
45 overs at the Old County Ground. Brentwood responded well and a close finish was always on the cards, but Wright’s men held their nerve as the home side were bowled out
for 230 to give Upminster an 11 run victory. (Scorecard)

Josh Lamont’s 3rd XI stretched their lead at the top of the table with a 10 wicket win over Buckhurst Hill at Coopers. Scott Fisher was in fine form to knock over the Hill top order
before Tom Larke worked his way through the visitors middle order. Hill looked like they would struggle to make 50 for a while, but 16 from their last man enabled them to make it
to 70. It was nowhere near enough though as Steve Limn and Mike Larke saw their side to a 10 wicket win, with Limn finishing on 44 not out. (Scorecard)

There was a heavy defeat for the 4th XI, as they were well beaten by Shenfield 3s. Paul Middlemiss made 49 and Ben Calder 33 as Upminster made sure they used their full allocation of overs, but their total of 183-8 never looked enough on a high scoring ground. Ryan Brown and Max Gordon struck early in the Shen reply, but Ryan Carey made a superb 96 not out for the home side, and with Dave Castell supporting him Shenfield eased to an eight wicket win. (Scorecard)

The 5th XI also fell to defeat, this time at Oakfield Parkonians. Father and Son combination Nathan Brown (34) and Dave Brown gave Upminster a solid start, and Callum Berry made a fine 46 in the middle order as Upminster steadily built. Dave Cowley also made 32 but the Parks attack bowled tightly and Upminster were restricted to 172-7 from their 40 overs. Ollie Woods struck early in the Parks reply, and Joe Simpson picked up two wickets, but Dan Shalom made a solid half century for Parks to help his team to a five wicket win with more than four overs remaining. (Scorecard)

The 6th XI lost out in their local derby against Hornchurch 5s. Hornchurch’s strong batting line up performed well but Upminster’s bowlers stuck to their task to bowl out their opponents. However, Hornchurch’s total of 285 proved to much for Ray Calder’s men who were bowled out for 84. (Scorecard)

Nicky Ison’s side went to Billericay on Sunday with high hopes of brining home the Essex League Dukes T20 Cup, but as with many other Finals Day appearances it ended in disappointment. Having won the toss and decided to bat against Colchester and East Essex, Upminster were reduced to 4-3 by Ollie Bocking and Jack Hebron. Louis Pickering and Alan Ison looked like they may rescue the situation, but when they fell the innings subsided. Only Ison, Pickering and Frankie Hazel made double figures as Upminster were bowled out for 60, with 6 overs unused. In reply Pickering picked up two wickets and Nabeel Azeez claimed one but it was not enough as Colchester cruised home by seven wickets. Colchester were eventually beaten by Hornchurch in the afternoon’s Grand Final. (Scorecard)

Sunday afternoon was memorable though for Tom Daniels. He made his maiden century for the club, a wonderful 100 not out as the Sunday 2s overcame Orsett and Thurrock at Upminster Park. Chasing 202 for victory Daniels hit 15 fours to reach the landmark. He was helped by Nathan Bright who made an unbeaten 51, his first senior half century, as Upminster won by nine wickets. (Scorecard)

The Matchplay Team exited the competition at the group stage after being beaten by a strong Woodford Wells side. Upminster fought back from a fast start by Wells to restrict the home side to 257-8 from their 40 overs. It proved to much though and despite an excellent 64 from Sam Twine Upminster lost by 96 runs.