The 1st XI season was a tale of two halves. The first half of the league campaign saw some bad luck and injuries contribute towards a number of defeats, many by fine margins, before the second half of the season brought a run of victories that led the side to a mid-table finish.

Preparation for the new season had gone well, with new captain Nicky Ison running some well attended and enthusiastic net sessions and some useful pre season fixtures taking place. The first competitive game took place way back on 22nd April, as the side travelled to Winchmore Hill in the National Cup. Due to the wet weather in April the game took place on Hill’s second ground and the home side posted 207-4 from 40 overs, with new man Mo Rahim the pick of the Upminster bowlers. Upminster struggled in reply and were eventually rolled out for 113 to lose by 94 runs. Rain the following weekend meant that the League Cup tie at Chingford was put back a week and when the game was played Chingford skipper Alfie Taylor made a wonderful century to help his side reach 242-5. Louis Pickering made 61 in the Upminster reply and for a while they looked like they were in the hunt, before eventually fading to 193-9.

The League season began a week later, but again the weather was not at it’s best, and on this occasion it cost Ison’s side an almost certain victory. Rahim and fellow new boy Ejaz Khan produced fine displays with the ball as visitors Harold Wood were dismissed for 135. Upminster were looking good at 41-1 as they chased victory before heavy rain came to washout the rest of the afternoon and deny Upminster an opening day success. It was another derby date on Week 2 as the side made the short journey to Gallows Corner to face Gidea Park and Romford. John Curtis, Alan Ison and Louis Pickering picked up two wickets apiece as Park were restricted to 206-8. It had earlier looked like they would struggle to pass 200 but 76 not out from Sam Hewitt turned out to be crucial. Shafiq Rahman made 37 and captain Ison made 36 as the visitors chased victory but they never looked like reaching the target and were dismissed for 136. Things went from bad to worse on Week 3 as Hainault & Clayhall skittled Upminster for just 89, despite 43 from Kiran Kullar, before coasting to a nine wicket win with plenty of time to spare.

There was an improved performance against Orsett and Thurrock the following week, as the game ended in a draw. Shahbaz made 65 and there were several other double figure contributions as Ison’s side posted 201-9. Veteran John Curtis then ran through Orsett’s top order on his way to collecting five wickets, as Upminster sensed a first victory of the season. However, Mark Pavitt dug in to make 61 and Orsett held on for the draw at 184-9. The captain was not fit for action the following week, so Frankie Hazle stepped in as captain, and there was a further improvement in the batting. Shahbaz made another half century and received good support from Louis Pickering and Harry Jenkins as Upminster piled up 240-5 against high flying Colchester at Upminster Park. Ejax struck early in the visitors reply but half centuries from Kieran Dale, Joe Austin and Jack Hebron helped Colchester to a four wicket win and consigned Upminster to another defeat. The theme continued the following week as the side travelled to top of the table Hutton. Upminster batted first and Kiran Kullar (53) and Farid got them off to a good start that was then consolidated by Louis Pickering and Shahbaz. Joe Parry and Vivian Paver then fought back for the home side as Upminster were bowled out for 226. John Curtis reduced the table toppers to 7-2 early in their innings, but then in a story that was to become familiar through the season, Paver followed up his wicket haul with an unbeaten 104. His efforts were the difference between the two sides as Hutton won by six wickets.

Going into Week 7 without a win was not ideal but it looked like the game with Buckhurst Hill was going to produce that crucial first victory for much of the afternoon. With Mo Rahim having departed to fellow strugglers Hainault and Clayhall, Nabeel Aziz came into the side. He bowled a tidy spell, as did Ejaz, John Curtis and veteran Ollie Peck, but Russ Beckett made 56 and there were six other double figure scores as Hill made 247-7. Upminster’s reply started slowly but Louis Pickering and Shahbaz put on 80 for the third wicket and then Pickering was joined by Aziz and they put on a further 89 to take Upminster towards that illusive win. Pickering completed a sparkling century before falling for 111 and Upminster ended up finishing agonizingly short on 244-7.

Week 8 bought baking hot weather and finally that crucial first win of the season!!! Upminster won the toss against Wells at Upminster Park and sat back to watch Farid (74) and Kiran Kullar (70) put on 101 for the first wicket. Louis Pickering then made a run a ball 66 before late flourishes from Shahbaz, Alan Ison and James Evans, as well as a generous 32 extras, saw Upminster reach 365-9!!! John Curtis and Ejaz then ripped through the Wells top order to essentially end the game as a contest. Jonathan Gaffney made a battling 57 for his side, but four wickets for Ollie Peck saw Wells dismissed for 152 and Upminster claimed their first win of the season by 213 runs!!!

With the weather still sweltering and the World Cup in full swing the side travelled to Belhus for what turned out to be a mid July run fest. Promotion chasing Belhus were in trouble early on as they fell to 36-3, but a fourth wicket partnership of 260 between Danny Joyce and Max Osbourne looked like it had taken the game away from Upminster. Joyce unfortunately fell for 99 but Osbourne went on to make an unbeaten 177 from just 118 balls, including 27 boundaries, as Belhus piled up 328-5. Upminster then fell to 80-4 in reply before a fifth wicket partnership of 103 between Alan Ison and Kiran Kullar got them back into the game. Ison made 73 from 39 balls but when he and Kullar fell the game looked over. John Curtis and James Evans did not give up the fight though and put on 59 for the ninth wicket but it proved just to much and they were bowled out for 291. The defeat meant Upminster remained in the drop zone at the halfway stage of the season, but they then went on a remarkable run, finding form at an important time of the season. It was unfortunate that captain Nicky Ison had to move down to the twos around this time due to injury concerns. This certainly turned out to be a positive for the 2nd XI, as he helped them chase the title, but it was sad that having put so much into pre season and winter training that Nick’s body didn’t allow him to complete the season as captain.

The second half of the season began with a convincing win over Harold Wood. Ejaz was the star of the show with the ball, as his 6-45 tore through the Wood top order. Ollie Peck, who had taken over the captaincy due to Ison’s injury issues, and Louis Pickering also picked up two wickets apiece as Wood were dismissed for 159. Shahbaz fell early but Farid and Kiran Kullar put on 83 for the second wicket and although there were some late wobbles Upminster cruised home by six wickets. There was another local derby a week later as Gidea Park and Romford came to Upminster Park. The Butt Brothers started well for the home side and Shahbaz went on to make a crucial 62. Upminster looked set for a big score but lost wickets at crucial times, and it needed and unbeaten 43 from the experienced Shafiq Rahman to help them reach 241-9. Harry Phillips and Park captain Jamal Francis batted well in their wicket partnership but when they fell Park collapsed against the spin of Nabeel Aziz. He claimed 5-22 as Park were spun out for 103 to give Upminster victory. The win moved the side out of the bottom two ahead of their crucial clash with Hainault and Clayhall. Youngsters Kiran Kullar and Louis Pickering were in the runs at Forest Road, both making half centuries as Upminster tried to set a big target. Once again wickets fell quickly in the middle order and they may have felt their total of 254-8 was a little under par. Irfan Shah and Mousshin Ismail started well in the Hainault reply but once they went it was left to Shafiq Rahman to show his skills with the ball as he spun his way through the home side’s line up, claiming 6-40 to give Upminster a win by 51 runs.

The result moved Upminster a little further away from the drop zone, and they entertained bottom of the table Orsett and Thurrock a week later at Upminster Park. Orsett batted first and made a solid start before that man Aziz came into the attack and turned things the way of the home side. He took 4-33 and with captain Peck claiming 2-19 the visitors collapsed to 158 all out. Alan Ison made a quickfire 42 in the Upminster reply, but at 95-5 the game was in the balance. However, youngster Louis Pickering combined with the experienced Terry Wyatt and they saw Upminster home without any further alarms, finishing unbeaten on 35 each. This mean there was now a little bit of daylight between Peck’s side and the bottom two as they made the long journey up the A12 to face high flying Colchester and East Essex. On a good track John Curtis and Ejaz bowled superbly to tie down the home batsmen early on, but Joe MacGregor battled through this to make a wonderful 109. Ollie Lovejoy contributed an unbeaten 55 but two late wickets from Pickering helped the visitors restrict Colchester to 235-7. Farid made a rapid 59 to get the Upminster chase started, but the innings of the day, and maybe of the season, came from Shahbaz. He timed the chase to perfection and in partnerships with Pickering, Rahman and Ollie Heazle took Upminster to the brink of victory. With the run rate just climbing slightly Shahbaz let loose in the 47th over, striking four consecutive boundaries to secure a four wicket win, and take himself to a marvelous 100 not out. The win meant Upminster were no longer looking over their shoulders as top of the table Hutton came to Upminster Park for what turned out to be an extraordinary afternoon. Hutton won the toss and chose to bat but saw Ejaz reduce them to 32-4 with the new ball. John Curtis then claimed the crucial wicket of Vivian Paver, and as so often for Hutton, when Paver fell the rest of the line up followed quickly. Curtis and Ejaz swept away the rest of the batting order as the table toppers were shot out for 49!!! Ejaz finished with 6-21 and Curtis with 4-27. Upminster lost two wickets in the reply but eased home by eight wickets. The entire contest lasted just 36 overs!!

Upminster’s remarkable run finally came to an end on Bank Holiday weekend at Buckhurst Hill, who were themselves chasing promotion by this stage. Hendro Puchert made 96 for Hill as they made 245-4, and it proved to much for Peck’s side as they were bowled out for 134, with only Farid and Aziz making a significant contribution. The side returned to winning ways the following week with a win at Woodford Wells. Farid continued his good form with 38, and runs from Rahman and Aziz meant Upminster reached 214-8. Joe Johnson made 63 for Wells, still battling against the drop at this time, but Aziz was at it once again as the innings wore on, picking up 6-33 as Upminster won an exciting contest by 10 runs. The League season finished with a heavy defeat to Belhus, who sealed promotion with their victory. Matt Doran and Joe Joyce both made centuries for Belhus as they made 274-3 before declaring early. Six Upminster batsmen made double figures but nobody could make a really meaningful contribution and Peck’s side were bowled out for 168. Belhus celebrated their deserved promotion while Upminster were left to mull over a sixth place finish.

One of the highlights of the season had come on the late May Bank Holiday Monday when the club hosted one of the Essex League T20 groups, and upset the odds to progress to Finals Day. In the early morning group semi-final Upminster overcame Hadleigh & Thundersley in a low scoring contest. Old Boys John Curtis and Ollie Peck starred with the ball, Curtis with remarkable figures of 3-6 from 3 overs, as Hadleigh were skittled for 97. Upminster looked in trouble at 24-3 and the game was in the balance at 52-4 but Shahbaz made an unbeaten 57 and with support from Nabeel Aziz Upminster progressed by six wickets. In the other semi-final Billericay caused a huge upset, beating holders Wanstead and Snaresbrook, and so Upminster faced the Premier Division new boys in the afternoon final. Upminster batted first and Shahbaz was again in the runs, making 55, and Louis Pickering made an unbeaten 34 as Upminster made 133-4. Billericay started well in their reply but the spin of Nabeel Aziz and captain Nicky Ison turned the game around. Billericay countered again and the game moved towards a thrilling finale. It was fitting that the skipper bowled the last over, and held his nerve, to send Upminster to Finals Day with a 5 run victory.

Unfortunately Finals Day ended in the same way as many previous visits, with an early departure. Having decided to bat against Colchester and East Essex Upminster were never in the contest and were rolled out for 60 in just 14 overs. Alan Ison’s 16 was the top score. Upminster picked up three wickets in reply but it was not nearly enough as Colchester eased home with 11 overs to spare. Colchester were then beaten in the afternoon final by Hornchurch.

In the end the season could be deemed a relative success, although the performances in the second half of the campaign left a sense of what might have been. A number of the youngsters in the Team progressed well throughout the year, with Kiran Kullar and Louis Pickering making a number of eye catching contributions that bode well for the future. The older heads within the side also put in consistent performances during the campaign, with Farid enjoying his most productive season for the Club. Hopes are now high for 2019!!