There may have only been one trophy on the way back to the Upminster trophy cabinet on Sunday evening, but it was a memorable day for everyone involved with the club. Five sides competed in finals, meaning more than 50 young players represented the club in showpiece games.

Our U9s were the day's only winners, as they secured their FOURTH trophy of the season as they claimed the Central Cup with a win over Harold Wood at Bentley CC. Batting first, captain William Peck and left-hander Stefan Stander both made the retirement mark of 30, and with some excellent running later in the innings, Upminster were able to reach 166-5 from their 20 overs. Wood made a solid start to their reply, but as the required run rate began to climb they started to lose wickets. Georgie Jeeves picked up two wickets in an over before Rajveer Nahr claimed remarkable figures of 5-11 as Wood were dismissed for 100.

On the next pitch the same two clubs were in action in the U15s Central Final. Harry Lawes and Gus Siggins got Upminster off to a blistering start with an opening partnership of 88 in less than 12 overs. Lawes made 31 and Siggins went on to reach the retirement mark of 50 before Ross Taylor and Mit Shah struck a number of late blows to take the Upminster total to 169-2 from their 20 overs. Aarav Rao and Saad Ali Baryar more than matched the Siggins and Lawes stand as the Wood reply began, putting on 87 in just nine overs. Ali Baryar fell for 43 but Rao retired on 50 before Umar Shafi and Eesa Faheem took up where the openers had left off. Shafi was superbly caught by Jack Hayward for 28, but Faheem remained till the end to take his side to an eight wicket win with more than three overs to spare.

At Woodord Wells, the U8/9s took on Frenford in the Don Coates Plate Final. Batting first Upminster made a net score (terriers) of 266 from their 16 overs, with Ernie Wyatt and Austin Horsley impressing. Frenford didn't lose many wickets as they tried to chase down their target, but Upminster kept things tight to stay in the game. Five runs were eventually needed from the final over, and one from the last delivery, and Frenford scrambled a bye to take the honours. A great game played in terrific spirit by both sides.

Next door on the main square the U13s faced Newham in the Len Stentiford Plate Final. Newham made a blistering start thanks to Afsar Siraj and Husnain Shazad, but two wickets from Ollie Sousanna got Upminster back in the game. Rayyan Ali made 29 not out at the end of the Newham innings, and they closed on 148-5. Upminster lost early wickets in reply, but Aedan Daly and Ollie Hinton showed some fight in the middle order. They made 29 and 25 not out respectively, but it wasn't enough as Upminster finished on 94-6.

Back at Bentley, the lunchtime interval saw the Central League trophies for the 2022 season handed out. Upminster picked up the following league trophies:

U9s - U9 Softball West
U9s - U9 Hardball West
U9s - U10 Hardball Div 1
U11s - U11 Div 2 West
U12 Girls - Softball Div 1

Following the lunch break, and with colourful manager Rob Bannister having dashed round the M25 from Woodford Wells, the U13s took on Harold Wood in the Central Cup Final. Wood batted first, and as with all of the other finals, the openers made a fast start. Stanley Moore's spell pulled Upminster back into the game, as he claimed three wickets to turn things around. There were also excellent catches in the deep from Joseph Brooks and Ethan Berry, but with Arnav Lanka, Aayush Baluja and H Sen reaching the retirement mark, Wood made a daunting 179-5. Upminster made a solid if unspectacular start to their chase, before three quick wickets saw them slip behind the rate. Ewan Lowrie and Thomas Cargill didn't give up the fight and started to find the boundary, but the rate required was too much, and Upminster finished on 121-7.

Congratulations to Newham, Frenford and Harold Wood on their victories during the day.

Thank you to everyone at Woodford Wells CC and Bentley CC for hosting the Finals, especially the BBQ Team at Bentley!!! And thank you to everyone involved on the Youth Committees of the Central and Met District Board's for organising two excellent events.

Well done to everyone from Upminster who played, helped or supported throughout the day. Everyone involved was a credit to the club and despite the results the whole day was enjoyable for everyone associated with the club. To play in five finals in one day is an amazing achievement, and things don't end there as we have another FOUR finals next weekend in the Met Board competitions.

**The Under 10s closed their season with a win over Orsett and Thurrock in the Havering U11s League. The victory means they finish the season in second place in the Havering table.