Sporting a brand new team kit (sponsored by GRIFFIN) Upminster CC batted first as Brentwood CC won the toss and elected to field.

Upminster got off to a bad start with a wicket falling in the first over. A strong 39-run partnership between Billy Sheridan and Anay Narbheram saw Upminster coming back into the game. Another couple of wickets followed, but middle order batters - Kayhan Suneel and Jack Butler - continued to keep the runs flowing. Jack scored an impressive 38 runs which included six fours and one six. Upminster ended their innings on a competitive 120/8.

Brentwood got off to a good start with S. Hafeez and J. Williamson scoring 13 and 16 respectively. They were soon stopped by the bowling of Jack Butler and Anay Nabheram. Brentwood’s middle order batters could not score freely as Aadit Latey and Woody Treadwell kept the pressure on by picking up wickets at regular intervals. A solid partnership between D. Balroop and E. Jamieson saw Brentwood come back in the game. However, the partnership was broken by Oscar Hayes. This was followed by few quick wickets, including a brace of stumpings by William Peck, which extinguished any hopes of Brentwood successfully chasing the target. Brentwood finished on a score of 108/9 resulting in Upminster winning by 12 runs.

As I type this report, there is still some discussion whether this result was due to a strong team performance or the brand new Upminster CC kit.