Last Saturday’s games saw our five sides in the Hamro Foundation League reach the midway stage of the season and the first nine weeks have been positive for most of our teams. As we start the second half of the season three of those sides are well placed in the top two of their divisions while two currently sit in mid-table and will hope to push on between now and September.

1ST XI
After starting the season with a League Cup loss and Friendly defeat to Buckhurst Hill and Shenfield respectively, it’s been a pretty positive two months since. The league campaign opened up with a thumping win at Chingford where a record breaking innings of 278 not out from JJ Smuts helped set up a total of 456-8 which went a long way to securing a 250 run win, backed up when Shafiq Rahman showed what he is still capable of by picking up four wickets in the Chingford innings. Many observers had felt before the season started that Upminster and Billericay would be amongst the frontrunners in the division, and so it was good that the side laid down a marker in Week Two by beating Ricay’ by three wickets at Upminster Park. Rahman was in the wickets again, and Smuts was in the runs again, but the chase was impressive as a number of the batters made meaningful contributions, not least Kiran Kullar who made a half century.

Week Three saw one of the great games of recent years at Upminster Park as Orsett & Thurrock were eventually beaten. Two good sides playing attacking cricket in a great spirit provided a brilliant spectacle for the big crowd in attendance. Chasing 259 for victory, eight of Upminster’s nine batters required made double figures, without anyone making a half century before Tom Daniels and Ollie Burley held their nerve late on to secure a three wicket win. The following week at Hadleigh & Thundersley things were a little bit smoother as Upminster won by seven wickets. Hadleigh made 270-8 and at 52-2 in the Upminster reply things were in the balance, however, half centuries from Smuts and Adam Wheater, and a superb 92 not out from Gus Philpot eventually saw Upminster to a comfortable win.

Rain washed out the next scheduled game against Gidea Park & Romford before the side put in their only poor performance of the season at Harold Wood. Asked to bat first on a difficult track Upminster fell to 88-9 before a last wicket stand between Rahman and Max Carter Miller helped them reach 124. Skipper Aaron Beard struck twice in the Wood reply, but the home side won by seven wickets. That result appears to have motivated the side even further as they finished the first half of the season with three convincing wins. A stunning performance from Smuts helped see the team to victory over Hadleigh & Thundersley at Upminster Park, with the South African claiming 5-51 then making 128 not out in an eight wicket win. That was followed by an extraordinary game against Gidea Park and Romford at Gallows Corner where Nehal Butt (97) and Ian Russell (82) helped Upminster recover from 85-7 to post 270 before Rahman rolled back the years once more with 5-17 as Park were rolled out for 126. And then just last weekend, Beard took 5-57 to bowl out morning leaders Billericay for 110 before Smuts and Kullar took Upminster to a nine wicket win and a spot at the top of the table.

All of that leaves Upminster with a single point lead over Aztecs and a 19 point lead over Billericay and Old Southendians. Tough games await between now and September, including two against Aztecs, with the first of those this weekend (11th), and two against Old Southendians, but the side will be confident of pushing on. Smuts has been in fine form (with 647 runs and 20 wickets in the league) but there have been contributions from across the team with three other players having scored more than 150 runs in total and six players having made at least one half century. Rahman has also picked up 17 wickets whilst Beard has 12 victims to his name at this stage. As well as nine league games the side can also look forward to T20 Finals Day on the 19th July having seen off Hadleigh & Thundersley and Chelmsford in the group stages to reach the showpiece event.

2ND XI
It’s been a topsy-turvy first half of the season for the 2nd XI, although performances in recent weeks have been much improved and give hope that the second half of the season will bring more consistent results.

The side had a disappointing start to the season, losing out to Buckhurst Hill by just eight runs in the first round of the inaugural Essex League Plate, but they followed that up with a friendly win over Wanstead & Snaresbrook where Aki Rahman made a brilliant 160. That performance created much optimism for the league programme ahead, but an opening day loss to Chelmsford was disappointing despite an excellent half century from youngster Vansh Mehra on his league debut for the club. A week later at Brentwood and it looked like the side were in a great position as 60 from Stu Connor helped Upminster to reach 147-3 but they collapsed to 196 all out and despite three wickets from Ollie Peck Brentwood won by three wickets. Unfortunately, a third loss in a row followed at Epping a week later. Epping batted consistently all the way down their order, and although John Curtis claimed 3-46 for Upminster, the home side were able to post 249-9. Mit Shah helped lead Upminster to 85-1 in reply before they collapsed once again to 92-6. Curtis and Scott Simmons produced some late runs to give Upminster hope, but it wasn’t enough as they lost by 19 runs.

Week Four of the league season finally saw the side get a win on the board as they comfortably beat Wanstead & Snaresbrook at Upminster Park. The visitors posted what looked like it would be a competitive total of 249, but it turned out to be about 100 to few!! Harry Jenkins smashed 129 not out from 124 balls and with support from Aki Rahman, Vansh Mehra and particularly Michael Pedrick the home side cruised to victory by seven wickets with eight overs to spare. Any chance to build on that win was washed away a week later when the trip to Billericay was rained off, and the following week an entertaining local derby with Harold Wood ended in a draw at Upminster Park. George Bryant and Robin Singh both smashed centuries for Wood while the returning Alan Ison picked up two wickets as the visitors piled up 288-2. Several Upminster batters got starts in the chase, and there were half centuries for Ison (50) and Connor (63), but wickets kept falling at crucial times and the home side closed on 265-9. Another exciting contest followed at Woodford Wells, but this time Upminster came out on the wrong side of the result. Ian Russell (81) and Gus Siggins (69) rescued Upminster from 73-3 but a later collapse saw the final six wickets fall for just 12 runs as Upminster were bowled out for 229. Simmons then bowled superbly to take 5-62 and give his side hope but Wells got home by two wickets with two overs remaining.

Some momentum was finally gained in the last two games of the first half of the season with two wins coming at Upminster Park. Against Epping it was touch and go all the way as to whether Upminster would chase down the visitors’ total of 275-5, but half centuries from Siggins and Ison and crucial runs from Mehra saw them to a three wicket win with eight balls remaining, and then last weekend Siggins was in the runs again (74) as Upminster posted 282 before Brentwood folded in the last hour against Jamie Green whose 8-74 saw his side to a dramatic 24 run win.

It all means Upminster sit sixth in the Premier Division table at the halfway point of the season, and while they are only 16 points above the drop zone, they are also only 16 points off third place in what is a very compact division. With the bat Siggins has been in fine form in recent weeks and tops the charts with 279 league runs while Mehra has also enjoyed an excellent first season with the club with 240 to date. Green now has 12 wickets to his name after last Saturday’s heroics while the spin duo of Peck and Simmons have 10 each. The next two weeks see the side face top of the table Chelmsford and then struggling Billericay so it will be a bit clearer after those contests how the remainder of the season is likely to pan out.

3RD XI
Until last weekend the 3rd XI had been doing 3rd XI things once again, winning the majority of games, playing good cricket and challenging for the Premier Division title once again. The 3rd XI are playing their 25th consecutive season in the top-flight, having been promoted to that division during Tony Blair’s first term as Prime Minster and when Sven-Goran Eriksson was leading the national football team!! In that time, they have recorded 18 top half finishes and claimed the title on three occasions, and so far this season the team have generally been in good form once again.

A tricky opening day contest against West Essex at Coopers saw Michael Pedrick make 52 not out to rescue his side from a tricky situation at 114-6 before Tom Young once again showed his potential with a burst of 6-42 to bowl out West for 110. Stan Moore and Steve Limn combined a week later against Woodford Wells with both players making half centuries in an Upminster total of 264-6. Will Rogers replied with a century for Wells, as he does against Upminster, but three wickets each for Finley Tolan and Joseph Brooks saw Dan Simpson’s side to a 66 run win.

Pedrick and Brooks were in good form again a week later but they couldn’t stop Harlow taking the honours as Upminster returned down the M11 with their first defeat of the season. Pedrick made a superb 104 not out and Brooks made 63 as Upminster made what looked like it would be a decent total of 232-8. However, Khubaib Asmat replied for Harlow with an excellent 100 not out as his side cruised to a six wicket win. Up to that point it had been the youngsters making the headlines for Upminster, but that changed at the end of May in the derby against Hornchurch. Veteran Mark D’Cruz ran through the Hornchurch top order with a spell of 6-30 to bowl them out for 160 and although the chase was a little nervy Brooks kept his cool as Upminster won by five wickets.

The game with Shenfield at the start of June was washed out and a quirk of the fixture list meant the next game was the short trip to Cromer Road to face Hornchurch once more. Brooks took 3-12 to help bowl out Hornchurch for 194 and Arun Kullar then made 69 as Upminster looked on course for a comfortable win. However, Hornchurch fought back and Upminster’s young line up lost wickets quickly and the game appeared to be slipping away. However, Ewan Lowrie and Aedan Daly kept their nerve with an unbroken ninth wicket stand of 35 to see Upminster to a two wicket win. Upminster then gained revenge for that defeat at Harlow with a crushing win over the same side at Coopers. Finley Tolan was the pick of an attack who all put in an impressive performance to bowl out Harlow for 130 and Zoran Suneel and captain Simpson then saw their side to a seven wicket win and an early finish!! That set up a top of the table clash at Chelmer Park at the end of June, but Chelmsford were no match for Simpson’s side who put in a dominant performance to claim the points. Joseph Brooks (4-49) and Tolan (3-19) were in fine form with the ball and with Upminster looking sharp and alert in the field the home side were rolled out for 140. Suneel and Arun Kullar then wasted no time in the chase as they helped power Upminster to a seven wicket and a place at the top of the table. Unfortunately, the first half of the season ended with the team’s poorest performance of the season as they were well beaten by Shenfield at Coopers. Only Tolan (51) showed much resistance with the bat as the table-toppers were bowled out for 137 before William Ovenden (58) then took Shenfield to a seven wicket win.

Those results leave Upminster second in the table at the midway point of the season, five points behind Harold Wood and level with Wanstead & Snaresbrook. The title race looks like it will involve all three of those sides and Chelmsford who currently sit in fourth. The season has also seen a number of young players break into the side on a more regular basis and nail down their places in the line-up. Pedrick and Kullar have been in good form with the bat while Moore and Brooks have shown their all-round capabilities. Tom Young has looked dangerous with the ball while Tolan has also claimed 10 wickets and shown his ability with the bat. Other youngsters such as Suneel, Narbheram, Daly and Sherdian have all put in good performances at various stages and the side will be looking to stay in the title race as long as possible. There was disappointment at last week’s result, but a home game this Saturday against leaders Harold Wood gives the side the ideal opportunity to put that performance behind them and show what they are really capable of.

4TH XI
After relegation last season the 4th XI have hit back in style and lead the way in Third XI Division Two as they look to bounce-back to Division One at the first attempt. Most importantly the side are currently 45 points clear of third place as the halfway point of the season is reached, and they therefore remain very much on course for promotion. If the batting was an issue in 2025, the addition of two stalwarts to the side this season has made a huge difference, and those experienced heads have combined with a youthful squad to take Upminster clear at the top of the table.

Nathan Brown, one of the older members of the squad now which shows how many young players are in and around the team, began the season at Hutton by picking up 5-35 as the home side were restricted to 184-8 on what is always a good track. It was then over to George Sheridan who produced a wonderful innings of 119 not out, from just 74 balls to take Upminster to a six wicket opening day win. At Hadleigh & Thundersley a week later the batting did falter for one of the only times this season. Ethan Berry made 64 at the top of the order but nobody else made much of a contribution until his Dad, Andrew made 28 late on to help lift the score to what looked like a competitive 140. That total proved more than competitive as a fine all-round bowling and fielding display saw the home side rolled out for 80 as Matt Ingleson’s side made it two wins from two. Ethan Berry was the undoubted star of the show in Week Three, blasting a brilliant 135 from 89 balls as Upminster piled up a huge score against Fives & Heronians at Coopers. Liam Robertson joined in the fun late in the innings as the score rocketed to 337-5 before another disciplined performance from all of the bowling attack restricted Fives to 238-9 and gave Upminster a win by 99 runs.

Captain Ingleson helped make it four wins from four at Brentwood at the end of May, with his 72 not out helping the side chase down a target of 162 after Dylan Narbheram had earlier taken 4-16 to wrap up the Brentwood innings. Back at Coopers a week later and the game with Wanstead & Snaresbrook was one of the only games in the county to beat the rain as Upminster completed a clean sweep of wins in the first batch of the limited overs games. Brown was the pick of the bowlers with his 3-34 as Wanstead finished on 184-9 before Steve Limn (69) and Ethan Berry (43) got the Upminster reply off to a fast start. Wickets fell as the conditions worsened but Mack and Narbheram saw Upminster to a three wicket win. The change of format to time and overs games didn’t appear to make any difference as the side took on Hutton and a sixth consecutive win was recorded after another run chase. Alex Holloway made 131 for Hutton but four wickets from Michael Jones got Upminster back in the game as Hutton closed on 231-9. Berry once again looked in fine form at the top of the Upminster innings as he made 87 before Joshan Narbheram and Fenton Everingham made important contributions as Upminster won by two wickets. Everingham was the hero with the ball a week later against Wanstead & Snaresbrook at Nutter Lane, taking 4-19 to put his team on top before Daly and Brown grabbed three wickets each as Wanstead were bowled out for just 95. That never looked like being enough, and so it proved as Limn (41*) and Berry (48) took Upminster to a nine wicket win.

A brilliant contest with second placed Old Southendians ended with a Rob Mack century and a draw at the end of June. Southendians looked like they would make a big total having reached 163-3 at Coopers before Nathan Brown brought Upminster back into the game as he took 5-98. Southendians were still able to post 258-8 before Limn and Berry once again got the Upminster reply off to an excellent start. Ingleson then made 35 and Mack settled in to keep Upminster in the chase. Wickets fell as the required run rate went up but while Mack remained Upminster still had hopes of victory. Mack eventually ended unbeaten on 100 and despite Daly striking the last ball of the match for six the scores finished level with Upminster on 258-7 and both sides having to settle for a draw. The first half of the season also finished with a high scoring draw at Fives & Heronians. Mack made 75 and Joshan Narbheram made 62 allowing Ingleson to declare six overs early on 280-8. Despite using eight bowlers Upminster were unable to break down the Fives batting as they closed on 205-8.

Berry is leading the way in the batting charts at the halfway point of the campaign with 439 runs at 62.71, but the influence of those two stalwarts, Mack and Limn, cannot be underestimated with the pair sharing more than 400 runs between them and offering bundles of experience in an otherwise youthful batting line up. Nathan Brown leads the way with the ball with 21 wickets so far while Fenton Everingham, Harry Bradford and Aedan Daly have all impressed. So many young players have shown what they are capable of in the team’s performances so far, and the youthfulness of the side was shown last week with Mack the only player older than 22 in the starting line-up (side pictured above). There is still a long way to go but Ingleson will be expecting to be measured for his League Dinner suit some time in late August or early September.

5TH XI
It’s been an up and down season for the 5th XI so far, but they reach the halfway point of the season with the chance of promotion still very much alive. With only one team going up from their division the squad will know they need to go on a great run between now and September to stay in contention, but they have shown enough so far to indicate that this is not beyond them.

The season began with an efficient win on the Thames Estuary at Leigh on Sea. Kevin Roome grabbed three wickets in a Leigh total of 138 before Liam Robertson made a rapid 56 not out in an eight wicket win. It was two wins from two a week later at Campion as 4-14 from Rob Evans helped bowl out Shenfield for just 99. Ian Munn led the chase with 42 not out as the home side won by seven wickets. A third consecutive win was secure a week later in the derby at Hornchurch with Munn again in the runs and Dylan Narbheram adding a late flourish as Upminster made 217-9. Hornchurch stayed in the game for much of the chase but four wickets for Roome and three for Aalok Latey helped bowl out the home side for 175.

The run of victories came to an end a week later against Belhus at Coopers. Belhus started their innings well but were pegged back by the spin of Lewis Munn before recovering at the end to post 221-6. William Peck and Thomas Cargill put Upminster into a good position in reply but after they both fell the innings fell away and Upminster were all out for 165. The trip to top of the table Westcliff on Sea was called off due to the weather before another defeat was suffered against Harold Wood. Peck made another half century (62) while Stew Hammond also made 64, but once again the innings fell away a little after they had departed until Dylan Brooks (42) and Aadit Latey (20) helped Upminster to 221-9. Ryan Brown claimed three wickets in the Wood reply, but they were still able to pick up a four wicket win.

Adam Overton’s side returned to winning ways with a success over Wickford at Campion. Lewis Munn did the damage with the ball once more, bowling superbly to take 5-18 as Wickford were all out for 132. Ian Munn, Matt Mccarthy and Liam Robertson then guided Upminster to a comfortable six wicket victory. That win was followed up the following week with another success at Orsett & Thurrock. Harry Bradford was the pick of the bowlers to help restrict Orsett and Peck and Mccarthy were both in the runs as Upminster chased their target of 105 with few problems. Peck played the innings of the season at Shenfield last week, but his brilliant 104 could not stop the side losing to Shenfield. As well as Peck’s heroics there were also runs for Brooks (58) and Hammond (40) as Upminster piled up what looked like a match-winning 279-4. Shenfield looked out of the chase for much of their innings before Zak Patel blasted 85 from 48 deliveries to take Shenfield to a three wicket win from the penultimate ball of the match.

Peck leads the batting charts with 301 runs to date in his first season of senior cricket while Hammond and Ian Munn have also been in good form. Evans leads the bowling charts with 11 wickets at the midway point of the campaign while Lewis Munn, Room, Brown and Aalok Latey have also impressed so far.