Following Sunday's thrilling win over Chelmsford, Upminster will line up in the Matchplay semi finals at Hutton CC tomorrow (Wednesday) where they will face Saffron Walden.

It is only the third time in the Club's history that we have reached this stage of the season, and the good news is that on both previous occasions Upminster came out on top and progressed to the Final at the County Ground. In 1996 Upminster faced Billericay at this stage of the competition, with the game taking place at the Pegasus Club, home of then competition sponsors, Mobil. Will "The Buffalo" Sissen was the hero for Upminster as his four wickets helped dismiss 'Ricay for 122 before he then struck an unbeaten 42 to take his side to a two wicket win. Upminster went on to lose to Ilford in the Final, but six of the Upminster squad from that season still play regularly for the club and four more are still associated with the Club.

Eleven years later and it was Alan Ison who was the hero as Upminster overcame Hadleigh and Thundersley in the semi final contest at Billericay. Ison made 85 as Upminster proved to strong for Hadleigh and moved through to the final where they faced South Woodford. Once again the final proved to much for Upminster and they fell to defeat against a side including current Essex opener, Nick Browne. From that Upminster squad (pictured above) four players still represent the Club regularly while four more are still involved with Upminster.

This Year Upminster have piled up the runs in most of their games, with Harvey Daniels, Ellis Pickering, Kiran Kullar, Callum Berry and Nathan Brown all making sizeable contributions. With the ball Daniels, Pickering and Kullar have also shone, while Matthew Bright, George King and Harry Bradford have also picked up crucial wickets. In their group games Upminster overcame Springfield, Hornchurch and Oakfield Parkonians, while suffering a narrow defeat to Ilford and picking up the points when West Essex conceded. Walden came through a tough group, which included Wansted and Woodford Wells, without losing a game. They received a bye in Sunday's quarter finals, which saw them progress to this stage of the competition.

Best of luck to Dave Brown's side tomorrow. The game starts at noon and any support would be greatly appreciated by Dave and the Team.