The first few weeks of the season had been disappointing from a senior results perspective, but all that changed on Saturday as Upminster bounced back with six wins from seven games played.

Leading the way were the 1st XI who breezed past Aztecs to move away from the bottom of the Division One table. Under cloudy skies at Upminster Park it was somewhat of a surprise that Aztecs chose to bat, and the visitors were probably regretting their decision quickly as skipper Aaron Beard and Max Carter-Miller tore through the top order. Aztecs recovered from 17-5 to reach 40-5, but Shafiq Rahman then came into the attack and ran through the lower order as the visitors were skittled for just 60. Rahman finished with 3-4 while captain Beard claimed 3-22 and Carter-Miller 3-12. Upminster fell to 32-2 in reply, but the result was never in doubt and Tom Daniels made a fluent 30 not out as his side cruised to an eight wicket win.

The 2nd XI also picked up their first win of the season, in a high scoring encounter at Woodford Wells. Joseph Brooks and the returning Harry Jenkins got Upminster off to a solid start before Ian Russell settled in and looked in good touch. Upminster lost wickets at the other end though, and despite 21 from Ross Taylor, at 200-7 after 37 overs it was unclear if Upminster would set a challenging total. Enter 14 year old Fin Tolan who joined Russell, who was now nearing his half century, and the pair took the game away from Wells. They added over 100 in the final 13 overs of the innings, with Russell finishing on 85 not out and Tolan ending on a brilliant unbeaten 50 as Upminster closed on 302-7. Ollie Burley struck early in the Wells reply but Harry Neicho and the aptly named George Wells then put together an excellent second wicket partnership to keep the game alive. Burley dismissed Wells for 63 before that man Tolan sent back Neicho for 89 as Upminster took control. Captain Ollie Peck then stepped in to put the result beyond doubt. The skipper ran through the Wells middle and lower order, claiming 5-46 as the home side were dismissed for 239.

The 3rd XI also piled up the runs in their win at Shenfield. Steve Limn (35) and Dan Simpson (67) put a solid foundation in place with an opening stand of 89 at Chelmsford Road, before the middle order really upped the pace. Zoran Suneeel made 45 from 41 balls and Michael Pedrick then showcased the progress he has made in recent months with a blistering 67 from 38 deliveries. Upminster were then taken past the 300 mark by Joran Tolan who clubbed 37 from 18 to help his side reach 318-7. William Ovenden claimed 3-56 for the home side amidst the carnage. The evergreen Mark D'Cruz picked up two wickets early in the Shenfield reply but Laurence Tredget and Gary Sapsford kept their side in the game with a stand of 52. Tolan removed Tredget for 52 before Tom Young emphatically swung the game Upminster's way. The young seamer removed Sapsford for 29 and then ran through the Shenfield batting line up to take Upminster to the brink of victory. Freddie Wren battled valiantly for the home side with 66 not out, but Young ended with 5-40 as Shenfield were bowled out for 235.

There was a first win of the season for the 4th XI as they beat Gidea Park and Romford in a thrilling derby at Coopers. Michael Jones struck twice as Gidea fell to 20-2 before the middle order all made good contributions to put their side in a good position. Scoring at nearly five runs an over it looked like Park would post a competitive score, but Rob Mack came into the attack and claimed 4-27 for Upminster, three of them from catches behind the wicket by John French, as the visitors fell from 113-5 to 165 all out. Any hopes Upminster had of a comfortable chase were soon ended by Dushyant Joshi who took 4-30 at the top of the innings as the home side crumbled. Will Court made 30 to briefly hold up the visitors, but as Upminster fell to 92-6 Park were in the driving seat. Mack remained at the crease though, and found a willing partner in Nathan Brown with the two putting on 40 for the eighth wicket, but when Brown fell 34 were still needed. Mack kept his calm and continued the fight, and Jones joined him and found the boundary twice in quick succession. Upminster eventually squeezed home by two wickets, with Jones ending unbeaten on 20 and Mack finishing on a brilliant 49 not out.

The 5th XI followed up last week’s thrilling home win over Leigh on Sea with a victory over the same opposition at the other end of the A127. Ian Munn (34), Stewart Hammond (26), Patrick Gulvin (32) and Adam Overton (33) put Upminster into a solid position, before youngsters Dylan Narbheram and Ralph Burchell added some late runs to take their side to 211-8. Otis Luton was the pick of the home attack with 2-27. Captain and opener David Clarke made 77 for Leigh at the top of the order as his team reached 122-2, but after Clarke was dismissed by Upminster skipper Aalok Latey the visitors took control. Latey ended with two wickets, as did both Kevin Roome and Ryan Brown, as Leigh finished on 191-8 to give Upminster a 20 run win.

A third win in four games fired the 6th XI into promotion contention in Mid Essex League Division 8. Upminster made 172-6 from their 40 overs against Bentley 3s at Campion, and that proved more than enough as Bentley were bowled out for 131.

The only defeat of the day came from a youthful 7th XI who lost out to AGHAB 3s in Mid Essex Division 9. Jason Pike and Vishal Sharma got the “home” side off to a good start at Broxhill Road (the ground is also Upminster’s home ground). However, Upminster’s young attack kept their heads and fought back well to get back in the game. Anay Narbheram claimed 3-46, and despite a half century from Anthony Cain AGHAB were restricted to 210-8 with Sanjay Narbheram picking up 2-33. Captain Craig Grote made 37 from 21 to get Upminster’s chase off to a good start, but when he fell Upminster struggled. Matt Burch made 21 and there were double figure efforts from Sanjay Narbheram and Henry Hanlon but it was not enough as Upminster were bowled out for 113.