A second half of the season charge saw the 3s push for the title once more last year, before narrowly missing out.  With three titles in six seasons, and a record 24 consecutive seasons in the top flight, the 3rd XI are always expected to be amongst the frontrunners in the Premier Division, so we caught up with captain and opening batter Dan Simpson to see what he had to say about the summer ahead.

Last year was another solid season for the side, especially the second half of the campaign.  What were your favourite memories, both for the team and personally?
For the team, it’s tough to look past the Harlow victory at Coopers, knowing we had to win to stay in the title race. It was a win built on the performances of our youngsters (Fenton, Ollie Burley and Tom Young), ably backed-up by our seasoned "pros".  It showed guts, not just talent.

Personally, captaining low-scoring/tight games is pretty stressful, but when you’re on the right side of the result and some gut-instinct calls come off, it’s incredibly satisfying. Harlow home and  away, Wanstead away and Wells at Coopers spring to mind.

The side did well last year and a number of youngsters came into the side and did a good job. How do you see the team evolving this season?
More of the same, to be honest. There’s a lot of young talent in the lower elevens, it’s just a case of picking them at the right time (not too early or too late) and giving them an opportunity to be successful. That includes taking responsibility in pivotal moments and learning how to handle pressure, with us oldies around to support them.

How are you looking to build on last season and what are your objectives, individually and collectively, for 2025?
The objective is always to win the league. We have too much ability in our club to settle for anything less, but this will be the only time you’ll hear me say it. Once the season starts, it’s only ever about the next ball, the next over and the next game. Everything else will take care of itself and we don’t look too far ahead.

Personally, just a bit more consistency. The better platform the top three provides, the more successful we’ll be. I struggled separating my batting and captaincy last year, so I need to find a way around that. 

How has the winter treated you and how has pre-season gone?
I’ve struggled with an eye condition over the winter, which is thankfully on the mend. Other than the past two weeks, I haven’t been able to train at all. However, the break has done me good and I’m looking forward to Wells away as our pre-season friendly!

Any games you are particularly looking forward to this season?
A good friend of mine captain’s Hornchurch 3s, who we host first game of the league season, so we’ll have a (very!) small crowd in for that.  Outside of that, games against Woodford Wells are always played in the right spirit and we definitely owe Harold Wood a performance, after running out of steam at the end of last year.