After three years out of the Essex Sunday League, Upminster made a triumphant return to the competition in 2025. While that triumph came in the League’s T20 cup event, it was also a successful return in a number of other ways, as the results, performances and development of young players all more than justified the club’s decision to enter a side in the Sunday League for the first time since 2021.

With skipper Nehal Butt injured for the opening weeks of the season Callum Berry took on captaincy duties and he saw his side make a winning return to the league in early May at Harold Wood. Jamie Green claimed five wickets to help bowl out Wood for just 91 before Michael Pedrick and Ollie Burley saw Upminster to a convincing 10 wicket win. The first game which really demonstrated what the club had hoped to get from re-entering the league came against Neo at Upminster Park a week later. Upminster were in trouble with the bat before youngster Ollie Clarke made 37 to give his side something to bowl at as they totalled 157. Gus Philpot then picked up four wickets as an Upminster side containing four U15s or younger won a thrilling game by five runs.

The next game, away to Bardoli, also looked like it may end up in a tight finish before it was unfortunately abandoned after a nasty injury. Berry had made 90, from just 61 balls, as Upminster made 218 and Bardoli were 130-6 from 19 overs before Ollie Clarke injured himself in a brave attempt to take a catch, and with an ambulance needing to be called both sides agreed the game should be abandoned. Upminster then finished May with a fine win over Buckhurst Hill which kept them in the title hunt. Burley starred with the ball as he took 3-18 before U14 George Sheridan made 50, and with Ian Munn and Berry also making half centuries Upminster won another excellent game by five wickets with four overs to spare.

Butt returned to captain the side in late June, but a first defeat of the season came against Oakfield Parkonians. Chasing 219 for victory Mo Ahmad (71) and Rob Healy (41) took Upminster into a good position at 148-5, but when Healy fell Upminster collapsed and were all out for 171, with more than six overs of their allocation not used. Upminster’s title hopes suffered a further blow a couple of weeks later against London Desperados. In a game reduced to 35 overs per side there were runs for Berry (50), Philpot (68) and Butt (37*) as Upminster made 213-7, but it wasn’t enough as Desperados got home by five wickets with 14 balls remaining.

The biggest win of the seasons came against Scintilla at Upminster Park in mid-July. Upminster fell to 6-2 as they batted first before Butt and Zoran Suneel turned things around in style. Suneel made 74 and Butt went on to make an astonishing 155 not out from just 102 balls before late runs from Liam Robertson and Michael Pedrick helped their side reach 317-7. Veteran Shrey Shah (3-24) and youngster Lewis Munn (3-7) then combined to help bowl out the visitors for 163 to give Upminster a 154 run victory. The game at Goresbrook in early August had become a virtual title showdown with the home side having won seven from seven at that stage and Upminster needing a win to stay in the hunt for top spot. Ahmad made a brilliant 125 not out while Suneel was in the runs again, narrowly missing out on a century when he was bowled for 96, but Upminster’s total of 248-4 still looked a good one. However, on a lightning fast outfield Goresbrook batted superbly, and although Avanish Ajmani claimed two wickets it was Lee Jones (87*) who took his side to a six wicket win, and effectively ended Upminster’s title aspirations.

With Upminster Park out of action, the game against Waltham was played at Coopers School, and the match was a great advert for the work done by Grounds Executive Mark Severn as runs galore were scored on a baking hot afternoon. Ali Ayyub made 95 for Waltham as they piled up 275-4 before Kiran Kullar (59) and Sheridan (42) put on 88 for the opening wicket in reply. Berry then smashed 82 from 41 to help Upminster to 198-3 before the last seven wickets fell for just 30 runs and the home side slid to a 47 run loss. Upminster did finish the league campaign with a win though, and it was some game as they overcame Roding Valley at Upminster Park. Kullar struck a marvellous 152 and Suneel made 89 as Upminster made a seemingly match winning total of 306-6. With Valley second bottom of the table at the time few would have given them any hope of chasing down their target, but Rahat Hasan (81) had other ideas as he kept his side in the game. The run rate required hovered around 11 an over for most of the innings, but despite losing wickets Valley’s last pair reached the last three overs with 33 runs needed and that then became 10 required from the last. However, youngster Sheridan kept his nerve and claimed the final wicket from the second ball of the over as Upminster won a thrilling game by eight runs to eventually finish the season in a more than respectable fourth place, with Goresbrook taking the title.

When Upminster last played in the Sunday League in 2021 they had claimed the T20 cup with a tense final victory over Waltham. This time round they faced Goresbrook in the quarter finals at Upminster Park and another tense encounter took place. A rare appearance from James Evans saw the tall right-hander top score with 48 as Upminster made 164-5 before Joshan Narbheram and Burley claimed two wickets each as the visitors were eventually restricted to 145-6. The semi final threw up a local derby with Harold Wood who included Stu Connor in their side, the man who had captained Upminster to glory in 2021. Connor and his new teammates fell victim to Burley and Max Carter-Miller who claimed three wickets each as Wood were restricted to 134, and although there were a few nervous moments during the chase, 57 from Mo Ahmad saw Upminster to a five wicket win.

There was then a wait of nearly three months before the T20 final against Scintilla took place at Gallows Corner in mid-September. While it may not have been the biggest competition the club played in during 2025 the final provided a thrilling end to the season. Scintilla won the toss and asked Upminster to bat first on a green looking track, and Noman Javed had Upminster in early trouble as his two wickets helped to reduce Upminster to 30-3. Skipper Nehal Butt helped Zoran Suneel rebuild before Suneel fell for 19 and Butt and Aki Rahman then looked to get Upminster on top. They had put on 25 for the fifth wicket before Butt fell, and when Mehrab Sifat (3-16) struck again two balls later Upminster found themselves 87-6. Rahman remained though, and after a slow start began to find his fluency to help his side rebuild again. Rahman was well supported by George Sheridan who once again showed maturity beyond his years with an excellent innings in tough conditions. The seventh wicket pair added 37 to give their side hope and although Rahman (36) and Sheridan (16) fell before the end, Upminster will have been pleased to have reached 134-8 from the position they had been in.

If the momentum at halfway had seemingly been with Butt's side, then that quickly swung the other way as the Scintilla chase began. Javed and Haroon Hafiz got their side off to a lightning start, with Javed bringing up his half century from just 31 balls as the opening pair put on 82 in less than ten overs to seemingly put the result beyond doubt. Upminster's young side didn't give up though, and the introduction into the attack of Gus Philpot and Michael Pedrick started to bring their side back into the game. Javed fell for 58, and Hafiz for 22, before Philpot had Sajal Rahman caught at the wicket and Pedrick trapped Ali Zaib in front without scoring as Upminster stormed back into the game. Philpot had debutant Zain Akhtar caught by Ollie Burley as the wickets continued to fall, and youngster Finley Tolan then produced a brilliant two wicket burst to leave Scintilla 111-7 and Upminster looking like favourites. Morshadur Rahman remained for Scintilla and looked to be keeping his nerve as he tried to steer his side to victory, and with Moazzam Sultan providing good support the last over arrived with 11 needed for victory. That equation was reduced to four from two deliveries before Sultan was run out to leave Upminster on the brink. Burley held his nerve to produce a dot ball to finish as Upminster won a thrilling contest by three runs.

All in all, the return to competitive Sunday cricket was a huge success. A whole host of youngsters were given an opportunity to play league cricket at a good level and the likes of George Sheridan, Lewis Munn, Alfie Taplin, Ollie Clarke and many others all showed their potential and learned from the experience. There were also a number of good performances from other players whose Saturday cricket is played in the middle and lower elevens, such as Michael Pedrick, and they showed what strength in the depth the club possesses as well as seeing for themselves what they need to do to push up further through the sides. Nehal Butt and Callum Berry both did a great job as captains, and the likes of Gus Philpot, Kiran Kullar, Mo Ahmad, Ollie Burley and Max Carter-Miller all added some experience and know-how from the higher elevens which helped everyone in the squad. We look forward to more of the same in 2026.