With a membership of around 1,000, and with more than 550 games of cricket played each year, the work needed to run Upminster Cricket Club in the modern era is a huge task. To support this the club is lucky to have 27 volunteers who fulfil 43 positions on the club’s committee and sub-committees.

Spring is obviously a busy time for all of these people, with preparations being made for the season ahead, but during March we will be introducing you to a number of these officers as they explain the roles they play within the club.

Previously we have caught up with Karen Burley, James Evans, Kevin Roome, Sanjay Narbheram, and Jayakanthan Loganathan. This time we catch up with a man who has had one of the most difficult roles in the club in recent years, Matt Burch:

What is your current role on the Committee??
I'm currently the Chairman of Selectors for our men’s senior sides.

How long have you been in the role??
2026 will be my third season in the role. I first took up the role when injured at the beginning of the 2024 season with a fractured shoulder.

What's the most challenging thing about your role??
The early season selection of the seven league teams when the U16 and U18 players start to concentrate on and prioritize their exams (understandably) means we often lose an entire side spread across the club. This often causes issues for the lower teams and it’s a shame that we can't always fulfil an 8th XI fixture meaning all active players getting a game.

This can then work the other way round, such as at the tail end of 2025 season when we could have got nine teams out, if we had the opponents or grounds available.

You had previously played your cricket at Gidea Park & Romford. How did the move to Upminster come about??
After 34 years at Gallows, playing in over 300 senior games and being a Vice President, I fancied a change (nothing to do with caps).

I'd made many friendships over the years playing against UCC, and socialising with many members at events such as the Singletons Tour, Benefit Matches, golf days and knowing some players who had even represented both clubs in previous years gone by. Middles, Bobby Mack, Bezza, Pedders Snr and Spangles I've known for many years now.

How do you think our men's senior sides will fare this season??
Hopefully the higher elevens have good selection at the beginning of the season, as this then feeds down making the lower teams stronger and not having to play catch up. So I see no reason why the 1s can't push for promotion to the Premier League especially with the return of a familiar face or two!!

Additionally, the 2s and 3s should be pushing for the top spots as per usual with the 4s, 6s and 7s looking for promotion after suffering relegations last season. However, the 4s were playing to a very high standard against 3rd XIs from a number of strong clubs. With new captains in the 5th, 6th and 7th XI's hopefully they can push on and bring on the youngsters with the help of senior players’ knowledge and guidance.

After playing more regularly again last year how are you looking forward to the playing side of things this season??
I’m looking forward to a good summer and praying for some early season runs. It’s always nice to start playing in dry warm weather and catching up with people more regularly after the cold winter months. Plus, I look forward to going back to the new clubhouse and chatting over the days play with fellow UCC members over a cold beer or two!! And of course, sometimes following that with a curry at our sponsors the Kushoom Bugh.

*To see all of our committee members, captains and junior team contacts visit our contacts page