It was a year of mixed emotions for the Club with the 1st XI enjoying an excellent season, culminating in promotion, but relegation for two of our other Saturday sides (although one side was then reprieved!!).

The 1st XI returned to the Premier Division after a tense last day victory over Loughton. For much of the season the side was in fine form, and in mid August looked like they would cruise to promotion. However, a couple of under par performances meant that a win was needed on the last day of the campaign to ensure a top two finish. Matt Tigg and Junaid Sarwar batted superbly to dig the side out of trouble and then the bowlers took over to secure victory.

There was also success for the side in the Dukes Essex League T20 competition, with a run all the way to the final. An exciting semi-final win over Shenfield set up a final with Brentwood at Gallows Corner. A poor batting display meant Brentwood were only required to make a small target, but an excellent performance with the ball looked to have given Upminster the trophy but Brentwood skipper Jon Walford saw his side home. In the National Cup the side reached the 3rd round but lost out again to Brentwood, despite a good performance.

The side’s success was based around the excellent new ball partnership of John Curtis and Alan Ison, who shared the Club’s bowler of the year award. They were well supported by spinners Peck, Rahman, Aggio-Brewe and Tigg. With the bat Ison made a blistering start to the season, and Aggio-Brewe and Rahman produced some fine performances, but it was the middle order efforts of Junaid Sarwar and Nick O’Dell which were often key. O’Dell deservedly picked up the Club’s batsman of the year award.

It was a tough season for the Club’s 2nd XI. Skipper Dan Tyler missed the whole of the season with injury, and with several other senior players unavailable or injured it was always going to be a big ask to replicate 2011’s sixth place finish. Stand in captain Rob Mack was able to give a chance to several young players such as Sam Crotch, Frankie Hazel and Scott Fisher, and this experience will benefit these players in the future. With players returning from injury and the youngsters having gained another year’s experience, the side will expect to be challenging for promotion in 2013.

The 3rd XI had a solid season and ended up in 7th place. They are still the longest continuous serving team in the 3rd XIs top flight!! Captain Rob White was required in the 2nd XI for much of the season, and so Chris Cully was the man in charge. The appalling weather affected the 3rd XI more than most sides, and this made it difficult for the team to get any continuity. Chris Ryan enjoyed a good season with the ball on his return to playing action, but the real highlights were the performances of youngsters such as Ollie Heazle and Will Chuter who both progressed during the season.

After four promotions in the last six seasons it was a season of consolidation for Stewart Hammond’s 4th XI, and they finished in an excellent seventh position. With unavailability and injury issues in all the sides above, this was a fantastic finishing position. Jamie O’Dell and Nathan Woods starred with the bat when in the side, and the skipper and veteran Paul Bussey also contributed. With the ball it was seasoned campaigners Karim Govani and Russ Savidge who were the pick of the bunch, although Will Bottoms and Matt Ashby showed real signs of promise from the younger generation in the side.

The 5th XI nearly made it back to back promotions, but a last day defeat to Woodford Green meant they had to settle for 6th place (such was the tight nature of the League). Billy Wright did an excellent job as captain in building up an excellent team spirit, and he was supported by senior players such as Ray Clark, Andy Berry, Mike Jones and Lloyd Sutton. As with many of our lower sides it was the contributions of the youngsters which most caught the eye, with Calum Jack and Casey Adams contributing throughout, and a maiden century for Sam O’Dowd being one of the real highlights.

The 6th XI had a difficult season under the continued leadership of club stalwart Paul Scott. Mike Larke was in excellent form for the first part of the season with the bat, but when he moved up the sides, and several other players were also required elsewhere, it was always going to be tough going. As always, the team included a host of young players (most notably George Sadek) making their first appearances in senior league cricket, and these lads will have learnt much from 2012 despite the side finishing in the bottom two of their division (but maintaining their status due to other factors).

The 7th XI were limited to just a handful of friendly fixtures in 2012, but with several players returning to the Club in 2013, and availability hopefully improving generally, skipper Glen Ashby will hope for a busier season next time out.

On Sundays the 2nd XI once again competed in the East Division of the Essex Sunday League, and progress was made from 2011 as the side finished in 4th place, with just two defeats to their name all season. The side was a good blend of experienced players from the Saturday 1st and 2nd XIs mixed with some youngsters and other players from our lower Saturday sides. Youngster Jordan Tigg showed much promise with the bat in several games. The 3rd XI and Academy XI had their seasons disrupted by the weather and only played a handful of games between them. Hopefully this won’t be the case in 2013!!

The colts section continues to thrive under the stewardship of Paul Bussey and Martin Davis and their ever expanding team of coaches and helpers. The Matchplay side showed a vast improvement from the previous year, and moved through the group stage without losing a game. However, weather was again a factor in the second round, and the side lost a bowl out to Wanstead on another wet afternoon. Our other colts sides all performed well once again, competing not just against sides in the Havering area, but also against a number of other strong sides from further afield. The outstanding performers of the season were probably the Under 11s side who reached the semi-final of the Haydn Davies Trophy before losing out to a strong Wanstead side. The U11s and U15s girls sides also played more regular fixtures in 2012 under the guidance of Scott Fisher and Nicky Ison. The performances and vastness of the colts section is something that the Club are now rightly proud of, and everyone at the Club continues to try and ensure that as many of these young players move on to a play a role in the club, on and off the field, as they move up from the colts section.

We were lucky to once again host a Benefit Match against the County side in September, this year in aid of Graham Napier’s Benefit Year. Graham has been an excellent servant to Essex Cricket over the past decade, and a great supporter of our Benefit Matches in that time, and we were honoured to host this match. The excellent weather was again a big factor in such a large crowd attending this event. Thanks are also due to the sponsors of this game, many of whom have been involved with the Match since 1997, without whom the day would not be possible. We will be hosting a game for David Master’s Benefit Year in 2013, and the date for your diaries is Sunday 1st September!!!

The Club also took part in the excellent Chance 2 Shine State Schools coaching scheme once again, and coach Martin Davis provided nearly 200 hours of coaching in local schools. This has been an excellent scheme for the Club over the last 5 years, and has helped to maintain numbers and interest in our colts section during that period.

Of course, the club is indebted to many for their voluntary work, which makes it possible for the Club to continue to progress. Chairman Gwynne Mack and House and Grounds Chairman John Sutton once again put in an amazing amount of work to make the wicket one of the best in the League, backed up by the League’s statistics in this area. On top of this they also put in a lot of extra work in 2012 to bring the Club’s new square at Campion School up to scratch for lower eleven league cricket. The work of Gwynne and John means this should become an excellent facility for senior and junior cricket for years to come. Both men have done this for a number of years (although not many in as wet a conditions as 2012!!), and all members are grateful for the excellent job they do. Gwynne was rewarded for this by deservedly winning the Keith Martin Club Person of the Year Award at the end of the season.

We should also take this opportunity to thank all other volunteers who score, umpire, make the teas, help get the grounds ready, help with transport, or assist in any other way which makes cricket at Upminster take place every summer. This is especially the case these days with the number of people involved in the colts section, as it continues to grow. For a Club of our size there are to many people to mention individually, but without the efforts of these people the Club would not be what it is.

We must also thank our sponsors, the Alishan Tandoori, B F Mulley & Son Funeral Directors, Grove Road Tyres, James Read Opticians and Apollo 2000 (First Class Car Body Repairers) for their financial support in 2012. The generosity of these local businesses enables the Club to continue to take part in projects which benefit the Club on and off the pitch.

Everyone at the Club would like to wish all SNEL Clubs an enjoyable 2013, and we look forward to welcoming you to Upminster Park or one of our out-grounds.