The day started with three U9 and two U11 sides taking part in the Gidea Park and Romford World Cup Cricket Festival at Gallows Corner. In the U9s competition both the Upminster A and C Teams won their groups and faced one another in the semi-finals. The A Team came out on top in that contest and went on to beat Gidea Park and Romford in the Final. Congratulations to Graeme Lawes and his team. The Upminster B side came second in their group but lost out to Goresbrook in their Plate semi final.

In the U11s competition the Upminster Tornadoes won three out of their five games to finish third in the standings, while the Upminster Hurricanes won two of their five contests to end up fourth.

Following the junior action two Upminster teams then took part in the Ladies Competition. Both teams remained unbeaten throughout the competition, with one of the sides, led by Natashan Munn, claiming the silverware.

The whole event was a great occasion, and many thanks go to Gidea Park and Romford for organizing such a great day and for inviting us all along. Special thanks to Mark Hope and Jason Daniels for their hospitality.

Also in the morning the U12s won their latest Brian Taylor Trophy contest as they overcame Bancroft Lions by seven wickets at Coopers.

On to the afternoon and the Matchplay side faced old friends and rivals Hornchurch in a local derby at Harrow Lodge Park. Hornchurch won the toss and decided to bat and they made an excellent start. Freddie Barnacle then made a superb 70 for the home side, but Upminster foughtback well and restricted Hornchurch to a total of 258. Upminster needed a good start to their reply, and as in last week’s game with Ilford they got it thanks to Kiran Kullar and captain Harvey Daniels. They took the total past 150 before Daniels fell for 84. Kullar kicked on though, and soon reached his century as Upminster closed in on victory. He eventually finished on 114 not out, and with Nathan Brown making an unbeaten 24 Upminster won by nine wickets with plenty of time to spare.

Back at Upminster Park the Kushoom Tigers took on the Hunter Hurricanes in the Windmill Whack. Harry Jenkins was in fine form the Tigers as they batted first in muggy conditions. He reached the retirement mark of 50, before 29 from Paul Middlemiss and some late blows from Mark D’Cruz helped the Tigers reach 160-4. Chris Ryan struck early for the Tigers as the Hurricanes went about their chase, but Stu Connor kept the scoreboard ticking along nicely. His departure put the Tigers back on top but Louis Pickering struck a rapid unbeaten 50 to put the Hurricanes in pole position for the points. His retirement and a cluster of wickets, including the crucial one of Michael Jones, gave the Tigers hope, but Ollie Heazle and Scott Fisher held their nerve to give the Hurricanes a two wicket win.

Following the Windmill Whack everyone was glued to the TV to watch the thrilling climax to the World Cup Final. While it was an amazing victory for England, commiserations must go to Upminster’s former Overseas player Jimmy Neesham whose side came narrowly close to victory, but congratulations to Jimmy on having a brilliant tournament for New Zealand.