Both the 5th and 6th XIs will compete in the same divisions in 2025 after up and down seasons culminated in the two sides finishing seventh and eighth places respectively.  They reached those positions via very different routes, with the 5th XI starting the season strongly before having a difficult mid-season period, whilst the 6th XI began the season with a number of defeats but showed great spirit in the second half of the campaign to pull themselves to safety.

Unlike most sides in the club, the 5th XI were able to get in a pre-season friendly as they travelled to Chignal.  Ollie Clarke made 52 not out and Thomas Cargill picked up three wickets, but Chignal won a tight encounter by three wickets.  The 5s began the league season well though, with a victory against Frenford.  Veteran Zulfi Hussain made 96 for Frenford, but Upminster's seven man attack stuck to their task and four wickets each for Aedan Daly and Aalok Latey saw Frenford bowled out for 179.  Stewart Hammond and Michael Pedrick gave Upminster a solid start in reply and Adam Overton kept things moving in the middle order before a tumble of quick wickets left the game in the balance.  Ollie Hinton and captain Latey held their nerve though to see Upminster to a three wicket win.  There was no opening day win for the 6th XI who lost out at Wickford.  Upminster were rolled out for just 82, and it would have been worse but for a last wicket stand of 26 between Don Triggs and Ewan Lowrie.  Upminster fought well with the ball, with Lowrie and Patrick Gulvin claiming two victims each, but Wickford scraped home by two wickets.  The 5th XI fell to their first league defeat on Week Two of the season, losing to Loughton by 35 runs.  Ewan Lowrie claimed four wickets on his promotion to the 5th XI, but Loughton were still able to reach 205-8.  Thomas Cargill made an excellent half century for Upminster, and there were late runs from Daly and Latey, but Upminster fell short of their target.  The 6th XI's batting frailties were exposed again as they were soundly beaten by Hornhurch.  Only James Burchell and Joe Farrell reached double figures as Upminster were all out for 76 before Hornchurch strolled to a ten wicket win.  The 5th XI bounced back seven days later to easily see off Ilford on Bank Holiday Weekend.  Stewart Hammond batted the entire Upminster innings to make 69 not out, before late runs from Ollie Hinton lifted Upminster to 180-3.  Tom Young then produced one of the bowling performances of the season, taking 5-14 including a brilliant hattrick as Ilford were bowled out for 58.  There was a much improved performance from the 6th XI, but they narrowly lost out to Stanford Le Hope.  Upminster's young attack (plus Don Triggs) bowled superbly to restrict Stanford to 151-7, before Upminster fell to 49-7 and 71-8 in reply.  Thomas Brabin and Harry Coles didn't give up the fight though, and looked like they may take Upminster to a famous win, before they were bowled out just 13 runs short.  

June began for the 5th XI with an agonising defeat against West Essex.  Michael Pedrck and Kaleb Forster both made contributions for Upminster, but they looked in trouble until Aalok Latey and Harry Bradford put together a late partnership to lift them to 161.  Tom Young, Harry Bradford and Ewan Lowrie all bowled superbly in reply, and West were 75-6 and then 104-7, before scrambling to a one wicket win.  The boot was on the other foot a week later as Upminster beat Walthamstow by one wicket.  Captain Latey continued his good start to the season with three wickets, while Lowrie, Aedan Daly and Jack Hayward all claimed two wickets each as Stow were dismissed for 118.  Upminster were in all sorts of trouble at 68-8 and 89-9, but Hayward and Daly both completed excellent all round performances by seeing their side to a one wicket win.  The 5s trip to Ilford was a victim of the wet weather a week later, but they started to build some momentum when they faced Oakfield Parkonians.  Upender Sanga made a brilliant 117 for Parks as they made a formidable looking 239-4, before Stewart Hammond and Michael Pedrick again gave Upminster a solid start in reply.  Finley Tolan batted well at number three but it still looked a big ask for Upminster with ten overs of the chase to go.  Oliver Ward (41* from 33) and Adam Overton (57* from 32) then batted superbly to take Upminster to a seven wicket win with four balls to spare.  There was another strong batting performance for the 5th XI as they finished June with a draw at Loughton.  Oliver Ward continued his excellent start to the season by making a brilliant 101 not out, his first century for the club, while Ollie Hinton made an excellent unbeaten 59 as Upminster declared two overs early on 263-5.  Kevin Roome, Finley Tolan and Ollie Burley all picked up two wickets in the Loughton reply, but the home side finished on 202-6.

The start of June continued to be a tough period for the 6th XI, as they fell to three defeats, all against Orsett and Thurrock.  Against Orsett 5s Rob Bannister and Finley Tolan bowled superbly to help restrict their opponents to 137-8, but once again Upminster struggled with the bat, only Isaac Horsley showing much resistance in a total of 85 all out.  A week later against Orsett 6s there was a better effort with the bat, with the experienced Karim Govani making a brilliant half century, and with support from Harry Coles and Ollie Dignam, Upminster were able to reach 141-9.  However, that was not nearly enough as Orsett raced to a nine wicket win.  A week later and the progress the side was making was evidenced in a much improved performance against Orsett's 5th XI (again).  Kaleb Forster, Ben Calder and Will Court all made good contributions as Upminster posted 153, and while Orsett won by five wickets they were made to work hard for it by an Upminster attack for whom Joe Farrell and Govani both picked up two wickets.  Week Seven then finally saw the 6th XI break their duck with a win against Hadleigh and Thundersley.  Hadleigh batted steadily to reach 189-3 and despite 27 from Ray Calder Upminster looked in trouble again at 69-3.  WIll Court and Avanish Ajmani then took up the challenge and took their side into a winning position.  Ajmani made 59 and Court finished 54 not out as Upminster won by five wickets with plenty of time to spare.  Like London buses, having waited all that time for a win, the 6s then picked up two in quick succession as they ended the month with a victory over Wickford.  Court continued his good form with a well compiled 70, and some late runs from Thomas Brabin saw Upminster reach 211.  The game was in the balance as Wickford reached 113-4, before four wickets from Harry Coles turned things Upminster's way and Chris Brabin completed a good day for the family with two scalps as Upminster won by 80 runs.  

At the start of July the 5th XI were well in the hunt for promotion, but the next three weeks would see those hopes all but ended.  The month began with a call off against Walthamstow, a game they would have expected to win, and a week later they suffered a heavy defeat at Frenford.  Matthew Ingleson made exactly 50 at the top of the order for Upminster, and Ryan Brown made 41 not out to help his side reach what looked like a competitive 169-7.  However, any hopes they had of a much needed victory were ended by Frenford openers Khurram Darr and Rohit Puthawala, who batted superbly to see their side to a ten wicket win.  Upminster then lost a high-scoring thriller to Woodford Green at Campion the following weekend.  Michael Pedrick made 60 for Upminster, and there were also runs for Stew Hammond and Gary Carr before Adam Overton added a brilliant 61 not out to take Upminster to 251-5.  Green reached 161-1 in reply and looked to be cruising to victory before Kevin Roome stepped in and took 4-83 for Upminster as they came back into the game.  However, Nathan Onojaife kept his nerve and made 40 not out as Green won a brilliant game by four wickets with two balls to spare.  Aalok Latey's side did finish the month with a win though, as they put in a good performance at West Essex.  Ryan Brown and Fin Tolan impressed with the ball, but West were still able to reach an impressive 233-8.  Pedrick continued his impressive season with 54 to get Upminster going and there were good contributions from Dylan Mansell, Avanish Ajmani, Ollie Hinton and Tolan, before Ollie Ward's excellent and calm 56 not out saw Upminster to a five wicket win.

The 6th XI's improved form continued into July, although they also began the month with a rain-off against Harold Wood.  Against Billericay a week later Nathan French showed his class, and both sides showed the quality of the Campion pitch, during a high scoring draw.  French made a brilliant 130 from 107 balls and with Will Court adding some late runs Upminster were able to reach 240.  Ricay started their chase well, with Mayur Patel making 84, but he became one of three wickets for Harry Coles who brought Upminster back into the game, and the visitors finished on 228-6.  Ray Calder's side then picked up a crucial win a week later, overcoming Chelmsford to pull away from the bottom two.  Coles impressed with the ball again, as did Henry Hanlon, as Chelmsford were restricted to 198-8.  Kaleb Forster made an excellent 75 for Upminster, and Calder made 31 as the two men got their side off to a great start in reply.  A tumble of wickets brought Chelmsford back into the game before Patrick Gulvin played superbly to make a brilliant and crucial 52 not out to take his side to a three wicket win.  The month did end with a defeat, but the result and performance showed how much the side had progressed.  Earlier in the season the 6s had lost by ten wickets to Hornchurch in a game lasting no more than three hours, here they pushed the champions-elect all the way in an excellent game.  Forster and Calder gave their side a solid start once more before Will Court made 38 and Thomas Cargill then hit 54 not out from just 47 balls as Upminster posted 196-6.  Hornchurch were 94-4 in reply and the game was in the balance, but Ravi Joshi and Aaryan Gaur batted well to take their side to a six wicket win.

The 5th XI began August with a loss at Chingford.  Kevin Roome took 3-52 for Upminster but 77 from Nick Van Arkel helped Chingford to reach 194-6.  In reply Upminster were in good shape at 72-2 but quickly fell to 102-9 as the game slipped away.  Roome and Aalok Latey added 50 for the last wicket but it wasn't enough to stop their side losing by 42 runs.  There was an improvement with the bat, but another loss, a week later against Fives and Heronians.  Gary Carr's 54 was the mainstay of Upminster's 211-9, with Aedan Daly, Oliver Ward and Adam Overton also making useful runs.  However, with the Campion wicket once again playing very well the visitors were able to win by five wickets, despite another three scalps for Roome.  A quirk of the fixture list (there were plenty in 2024) meant the same two sides faced one another a week later, and the result was a near exact reverse.  Overton and Dylan Mansell both bowled well as Fives made 193-7, before Upminster slipped to 47-5 and then 93-6 in reply.  Mansell and Avanish Ajmani didn't panic though and batted superbly to take Upminster towards victory.  Mansell ended on 58 not out and Ajmani finished unbeaten on 43 as their side won by four wickets.  The game at Woodford Green was rained-off, and the month finished with a heavy defeat against Oakfield Parkonians.  Mansell and Roome impressed with the ball again, although it was Joe Farrell who took the bowling honours with 3-49 as Parks made 258-8.  Upminster never got going in reply, and despite some late runs from Mansell and Latey they fell to a 76 run defeat.  

August was an up and down month for the 6th XI, but they did enough to secure their divisional status.  Against Orsett and Thurrock 5s Matt Burch rolled back the years with a brilliant century.  The sweep shot was on fire as Burch made 104 from 100 deliveries to help his side take maximum batting points as they reached 200-9.  Unfortunately for Upminster it wasn't enough as Jack Aldwinckle-Day and Tyrone Owen saw their side to a nine wicket win.  Upminster did pick up a crucial win a week later in a thrilling contest at Stanford Le Hope.  Ewan Lowrie produced one of the bowling performances of the season, taking 6-21 to restrict Stanford to 189.  Will Court and Avanish Ajmani made runs for Upminster in reply, but at 138-8 and the required run rate at eight an over it looked like Upminster would miss out.  Ben Calder had other ideas though, and his 58 not out took Upminster to a brilliant two wicket win.  Thomas Cargill made 48 and Thomas Brabin took two wickets a week later in the game at Harold Wood, but Wood won by three wickets, and the next game against Chelmsford was rained-off.  Upminster then secured their survival with a brilliant win against Hadleigh and Thundersley.  Hadleigh batted solidly throughout their 40 overs to make 204-5, with Chris Brabin taking 2-36 for Upminster.  Upminster fell to 20-3 in reply before James Burchell made 41, but at 90-6 the result, and Upminster's survival, was very much in the balance.  Will Court and Harry Bradford then showed maturity beyond their years with a brilliant partnership.  Court made 56 not out and Bradford an unbeaten 67 as the pair took Upminster to a four wicket win.

The 5s finished the season with a home defeat to Chingford.  Thomas Cargill picked up four wickets with the ball, but chasing 158 for victory Upminster collapsed from 85-2 to 129 all out to lose by 28 runs.  There was also a last day loss for the 6th XI as they lost out at Billericay.  Chris Brabin was the pick of the Upminster attack with four wickets, whilst Jayesh Patel made 89 for Ricay.  Ed Knight made 54 in the Upminster reply, and several others reached double figures, but wickets fell at crucial times and Upminster fell to a 64 run loss.

Whilst both teams may be a little frustrated at their final league positions, it should be highlighted how many young players represented both sides during the season.  A number of these youngsters went on to play in the higher elevens during the campaign, while others progressed so much as the season went on, with performances both individually and collectively improving over the summer.  

5th XI Leading Run Scorers (League):
Michael Pedrick - 324
Stewart Hammond - 282
Adam Overton - 279
Oliver Ward - 262
Aalok Latey - 174

5th XI Leading Wicket Takers (League):
Kevin Roome - 15
Ewan Lowrie - 11
Aalok Latey - 11
Tom Young - 8
Dylan Mansell/Aedan Daly - 7

6th XI Leading Run Scorers (League):
Will Court - 406
Ben Calder - 203
Ray Calder - 203
Kaleb Forster - 152
Nathan French - 130

6th XI Leading Wicket Takers (League):
Chris Brabin - 14
Ewan Lowrie - 11
Harry Coles - 11
Thomas Brabin - 10
Donald Triggs - 8