The 1st XI had their moments against Brentwood in the Dukes Essex League Cup on Saturday, but the National Cup holders eventually proved too strong for Upminster and moved through to the next round. Captain Aaron Beard won the toss and chose to bat at the Old County Ground, and despite losing Aki Rahman early on, the skipper and Mo Ahmad both looked in good form as they put on 82 for the second wicket as Upminster moved into a good position.  Ahmad fell to the experienced Ian Belchamber for 32 and Jeevan Singh was dismissed by Aaron West, but Gus Philpot and Beard dug in to keep Upminster in the game.  Philpot's dismissal for 13 led to a middle order collapse as the visitors slumped from 140-3 to 159-7 with West and Bradley Sayers working their way through the middle order.  Beard remained and was nearing his first ton for the club, but needing just two runs to reach three figures he was bowled by Jack Hebron for a brilliant 98 from 82 balls, a knock which included six maximums.  At 169-8 it looked like Upminster may struggle to post a competitive total, but veteran Shafiq Rahman had other ideas and with support from Max Carter-MIller and Jamie Green, Upminster managed to use all bar two balls of their allocation as they reached 225, with Rahman ending on 29 not out.  

Beard continued his excellent afternoon when he trapped Thinod Balage LBW for 0, and when West was cleaned up by Carter-Miller for 22 the home side looked in trouble at 25-2.  Jack Hebron joined Will Buttleman and they began to repair the early damage, although Upminster's attack ensured the Brentwood batters were never able to get away.  The partnership had reached 97 and Buttleman was on 68 when he was caught by Jamie Green off the bowling of Jeevan Singh, and the game looked to be back in the balance.  However, Tom Oakley looked in good form for Brentwood and he and Hebron began to get their side on top.  Oakley quickly reached his half century as his side closed in on victory, and Hebron also reached that milestone just before Brentwood sealed a seven wicket win.  

A first Saturday league win of the season for the club was claimed by the 6th XI as they squeezed home in an absolute thriller at Hatfield Peverel 2s in Mid-Essex Division 8. It may have been the first day of the league season, but there won't be many better games involving the club between now and September!!  Peverel opener Alan Johnson batted throughout the home side's innings to make 76 not out, but all of Upminster's bowlers stuck to their task to restrict the total to 225-4. After an early wicket in the Upminster chase captain Ray Calder (22) and Avanish Ajmani (48) got their side back on track with an excellent second wicket stand, and then Will Court took over to push his side forward. While Court looked in fine form Upminster lost wickets at the other end as Martin Southwell ran through the middle order, and when Court eventually fell for a brilliant 67 it looked like the home side's game to win. Chis Brabin showed a lot of experience to keep Upminster in the game and Harry Bradford made a quickfire 21 to keep Upminster hopes alive, but when Brabin fell for 25 in the final over it looked like their chance had gone. However, Aedan Daly and Dylan Narbheram drew the scores level with one ball remaining and one wicket in hand, and with the field up to save the single Daly smashed the final delivery for four to give Upminster a one wicket win.

Unfortunately it was not such a pleasant afternoon for the 7th XI who also opened their league campaign as they entertained Hutton 4s at the Brian Clay Pavilion in Mid Essex Division 9. Upminster won the toss against Hutton and Paul Burley took a stunning catch off Ralph Burchell's bowling to give Upminster an early breakthrough.  Hutton skipper Darren Howard showed all of his experience as he brought his side back into the game but he was LBW to Dylan Brooks who picked up his first ever senior wicket.  Jai Johal looked in good touch for the visitors and he began to put his side on top, but two wickets for Anay Narbheram, on his senior debut, meant Hutton were 133-7 when the game was unfortunately abandoned.  After Johal hit the ball into the leg-side, youngster Brooks, making his first ever senior appearance, was involved in a collision with another fielder from which he sustained a serious injury to his ankle which resulted in him being admitted to hospital.  Both sides agreed to abandon the game at this stage, and we would like to thank everyone from Hutton for their help and support during the incident, especially Darren Howard and Dan Latham.  Dylan was kept in Queens Hospital overnight but is comfortable and on the way to recovery.

There was a loss for the 2nd XI in their home friendly with Brentwood at Upminster Park. Having chosen to bat first, all of Upminster's top six made double figures, but the only significant contribution came from 2024 Batter of the Year John Curtis, who made 63 from 57 balls. That innings helped Upminster to post a below par 182. That total was put into perspective by Brentwood's openers Jack Levy and Luv Savant who put on 126 for the first wicket to take the game away from the home side. Both batters passed their half centuries, and although Mit Shah picked up two late wickets for Upminster, Brentwood cruised to a six wicket win with more than 15 overs to spare.

The 3rd XI picked up a friendly win at Woodford Wells.  All of Upminster's top three looked in excellent form, with skipper Dan Simpson and vice-captain Steve Limn both making half centuries before retiring.  WIll Frost followed them with a well made 68 from just 58 balls while Ian Munn batted well in the middle order for 41 and some late boundaries from Jordan Tolan and Patrick Gulvin took the Upminster total to 287-6.  The experienced Deepak Sinha picked up 3-43 for Wells.  Wells captain Will Rogers got his side off to a fast start but was bowled by Patrick Gulvin and Tolan picked up two wickets to put Upminster on top.  However, Maxwell Crease led the recovery for the home side, making a hard hit 85 to seemingly put his side in charge before falling to Kevin Roome whose 3-40 swung things back Upminster's way, and despite an unbeaten 53 from Abbas Mirza, Wells ended on 236-9 as Upminster won by 51 runs.

There was also a win for the 4th XI as they overcame Fives and Heronians at Coopers.  Upminster looked in a bit of trouble early on, but John French showed all his experience to help turn things around.  He made 62 and with the equally experienced Stewart Hammond making an unbeaten 51 (before retiring) Upminster moved into a strong position.  It was then left to debutant Yasir Ali Bhatti, who crashed 53 not out, from just 29 balls, to take the total to 231-8 from 40 overs.  Upminster stayed on top as Fives began their reply, with Max Bird, Shrey Shah and Ewan Lowrie all claiming two wickets apiece.  Fives skipper Gary Edwards showed his quality as he made an excellent 76 in the middle order to hold up the Upminster charge, but he was dismissed by Ali Bhatti, who completed an excellent debut with two wickets, as Fives were dismissed for 162.

The Women's 1st XI were beaten by Colchester and East Essex in their latest Premier Division encounter at Coopers on Sunday.  Keya Shah made an early breakthrough for Upminster, but visiting captain Bella Johnson looked in fine form as she put her side on top.  Johnson made 83 and received good support from all of the Colchester middle order as they moved towards a big total.  Shah returned to the attack and produced an excellent spell which helped drag her side back into the game, claiming 4-23 as Colchester closed on 235-9 from their 40 overs.  Paige Roche (42) got the Upminster chase off to a good start, and with support firstly from Lois Gable and then from Felicity Russell, Upminster moved into a good position.  The home side lost momentum in the middle overs as wickets tumbled, but Russell remained to keep her side in the game and she soon brought up her half century.  The left hander was eventually dismissed for 66, and with her departure went Upminster's hopes of victory as they closed on 198-7 to lose by 37 runs.

There was also a defeat, but an excellent performance from an inexperienced 2nd XI at Hutton.  Maisie Coles picked up an early wicket for Upminster, but Hutton's second wicket partnership took the game away from the visitors.  Anaya Shankar made a wonderful 106 not out, and she received excellent support from Amelia Southgate who made an unbeaten 77 as the home reached a commanding 240- from their 30 overs.  Chasing such a large total Upminster's young side showed lots of determination and never gave up the fight.  Lauren Plumb made 24, and there were good contributions from all of the batters, especially Amelia Horton and Eadi French.  Coles and captain Angela Green then ensured their side used up all of their 30 overs, as they closed on a more than respectable 181-9 to lose by 59 runs.  

The 1st XI marked their return to the Sunday League with a fine win at Harold Wood.  Jamie Green picked a brilliant 5-12 as he tore through the Wood batting line-up while Gus Philpot's two late wickets helped bowl out Wood for just 91.  Any worries that Upminster may also struggle in their innings were quickly put to bed by Ollie Burley and Michael Pedrick.  The opening pair crashed the ball to all parts of Harold Wood Park as Upminster won by 10 wickets from less than 11 overs, Burley ending on 47 not out and Pedrick on an unbeaten 44.