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CENTRAL CUP GLORY

CENTRAL CUP GLORY

Paul Middlemiss31 Aug 2025 - 19:41

Three cups on way to the new trophy cabinet

The carpenters will need to move quickly to finish the trophy cabinet in the new pavilion after a trophy laden Sunday for the club's junior section.  Three trophies were collected, and there were runners-up medals for a fourth side, as the youngsters enjoyed a brilliant day.

The first side to get their hands on some silverware were the U10 Girls as they overcame Harold Wood at Great Baddow.  Upminster were asked to bat first by Wood and all of their pairs batted consistently with Eva Gordon, Amy Ashlin, Frankie Vincent and Phoebe Lucas all making double figures as they totalled a net score of exactly 300.  In reply there were wickets for Vincent, Lucas, Abby Quinlan, Betsy Moore and Amelie O'Dell, and an excellent spell from Evie Foley as Wood were restricted to a net score of 244 to give Upminster a 56 run win.  

Meanwhile back in RM14 the U14s were involved in a thrilling final against Brentwood.  Brentwood won the toss and asked Upminster to bat first and George Sheridan and Lewis Munn got the "home" side off to an excellent start.  They put on 76 for the first wicket before Munn was out for 28 in the ninth over.  Sheidan was in fine form but his retirement for an excellent 40 not out came in the middle of three quick wickets as Upminster slid to 88-4.  Ralph Burchell found the boundary three times in his 15, while there were also boundaries for Max Bird and Joshua O'Sullivan as Upminster closed on 138-7.  Upminster dropped a couple of early chances in the Brentwood chase, but Eddie Waters held on at square leg off of Burchell's to dismiss Stanley Boon and Burchell then picked up a second wicket to leave Brentwood 33-2.  Sheridan produced a stunning catch on the mid wicket boundary to give Lewis Munn a wicket before Ayaan Khan and Nick Harvey got Brentwood back in the game.  Anay Narbheram produced an excellent spell for Upminster in the middle of the innings, and he dismissed Khan with the help of Finley Tolan's excellent catch, and then crucially Harvey for 33 with Sheridan producing another great take.  Tolan trapped Dylan Balroop in front and Narbheram bowled Elliot Jamieson to put Upminster in full control, but Tommy Rose and James Williamson dug in to try and keep their side in the game.  They had put on 25 when Burchell returned to the attack and claimed two caught and bowleds in the same over to put his side on the brink, and the last over arrived with 18 needed.  That equation was reduced to 10 runs from four deliveries, but Tolan held his nerve and claimed the final wicket, Sheridan taking his third catch of the innings, as Upminster won by nine runs.  

In the U17s final, also at Upminster Park, it was Harold Wood who won the toss and decided to bat first, but Ollie Burley and Fenton Everingham struck early on to put Upminster on top.  Zareb Rizvi and Adwaaith Sundharm started to turn things around for Wood with an excellent third wicket stand and Rizvi soon reached the retirement mark of 50 not out.  Joseph Brooks dismissed Idrees Hakeem before Sundharm also retired and the run rate then began to slow.  Upminster were not always at their best in the field, and there were 30 extras which enabled Wood to reach 163-3.  Hakeem bowled Mit Shah in the second over of the Upminster reply before Mo Ahmad and Ross Taylor put together what turned out to be the match winning partnership.  They put on 81 in less than six overs to take control of the chase, with Taylor reaching the retirement mark off of just 22 balls and Michael Pedrick then joining Ahmad to keep the chase moving.  Ahmad soon reached 50 not out as Upminster were left with just 46 needed from ten overs, and Stan Moore and Pedrick ran superbly between the wickets to keep the scoreboard ticking.  Pedrick was dismissed for 15 with just 17 needed, before Moore launched a huge maximum over the new clock tower as Upminster neared the finish line.  Moore finished on an excellent 31 not out, while Ollie Burley had the honour of hitting the winning runs, clubbing a six over mid wicket and testing the strength of the windows in the new committee room.  Upminster's eight wicket win ensured they retained the trophy they picked up 12 months ago.

The day ended with a defeat for the U11 Girls in their Central Cup Final against Hornchurch Athletic at Great Baddow.  Upminster put up an excellent fight against a strong Athletic side, but Athletic proved just too strong and were deserved winners.  Upminster's girls have enjoyed an excellent season and will be in the hunt for honours again in 2026.

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