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Weekend Preview

Paul Middlemiss12 Jul 2019 - 08:41
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Upminster go in search of more victories after five star performance last Saturday

After last week’s perfect Saturday, Upminster will be looking to start to start the second half of the campaign on a positive note tomorrow. The 1st XI picked up their third win in four weeks with a comprehensive win over previous leaders Colchester, and they will be hoping to put in a similar performance against Woodford Wells. Wells triumphed by eight wickets in the opening day contest between the sides, and while their form has been up and down since then, they did pick up a very impressive win against Shenfield last weekend. Overseas star Mitchell Todd has been in good form with bat and ball and will be the dangerman at Upminster Park, but Upminster have plenty of players of their own in good form with Shahbaz Butt, Louis Pickering, Terry Wyatt and Nick Ison all starring recent weeks.

The 2nd XI picked up their first win of the season last week, at the ninth time of asking, with an excellent performance against leaders Chelmsford. They do remain bottom of the table though, and will need similar performances over the next few games to move away from the drop zone. Their opponents tomorrow, Woodford Wells, also picked up a crucial victory last time out as they overcame high-flying Brentwood. Knut Wilmott made 72 in that victory for the Wells, and he has been in good form in recent weeks as Wells’ performances have improved. The two teams played out a tight draw on Week 1 of the season, with Sam Twine rescuing Upminster after a poor start, and since then both teams have been at the bottom end of the table, with Wells currently laying 8th.

The first half of the season went well for the 3rd XI as they look to defend their Premier Division title, with the one blemish being a defeat to Shenfield two weeks ago. They bounced back from that last Saturday, comfortably seeing off Harlow to consolidate second place in the table. Opponents tomorrow, Harold Wood, have been inconsistent since Upminster beat them on the opening day, and they currently sit in mid table in the Premier Division standings. They had an excellent win over Wanstead last weekend, their first triumph in four weeks.

The 4th XI are unbeaten in five games and finished the first half of the season in fourth place. It’s a far cry from 12 months ago when they sat bottom of the table at the same stage. They face Frenford tomorrow who sit one place above them in the table. Upminster had the upper hand on the opening day of the season when the two teams met previously, and they claimed the points that afternoon. But Frenford have only lost once since then, and last weekend they beat Belhus in a high scoring encounter. Both teams will be looking to pick up a victory that could see them move into the top two.

The 5th XI face a mid table encounter with Loughton to start the second half of the season. The two teams are currently separated by just two points, with Loughton sitting fourth and Upminster fifth. Upminster won a thrilling encounter against Gidea Park and Romford last Saturday, while Loughton suffered a heavy defeat in their local derby with Buckhurst Hill. The game between the two sides earlier in the season ended in a draw with Upminster staving off defeat thanks to a last wicket stand between Don Triggs and Vishal Sharma.

On Sunday there is Windmill Whack action at the Club, while the World Cup Final will also be shown in the Pavilion. England line up against New Zealand to claim cricket’s biggest one day prize, and New Zealand will include former UCC star Jimmy Neesham in their line up. The Club will be open from late morning, with the Windmill Whack contest between the Kushoom Bugh Tigers and the Hunter Hurricanes taking place at 3.00pm.

There are also a number of colts fixtures on Sunday morning, while the U9s, U11s and Ladies sides will be represented at Gidea Park and Romford’s World Cup Festival at Gallows Corner.

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