The senior indoor season ended well for Upminster as they claimed both the Junior and Senior Cups at the Riverside Indoor League Finals Day on Sunday. With both teams having been relegated from their divisions this season, the performances in the cup competitions were a reminder of the club’s capabilities in the indoor game.

The Tandoori Boys (B side) got the day underway in the Junior semi-final against Hutton Eagles. Captain Ian Munn won the toss and elected to bat first, but he was run out for 10. Despite 20 from Daniel Tyler Upminster slid to 40-3 and then 63-4 and an early exit looked on the cards. However, Nathan Brown played a mature knock (23*) to take his side to a competitive total of 87-5. From that point onwards it was the Jamie Green show as the young Upminster bowler tore into the Hutton batting line up. Green removed Oliver Gray with the first ball of the innings and followed that up by bowling Daniel Rickard before the end of his first over. In his second over he then dismissed Keval Suchak to leave Hutton 12-3 before having Robbie Morris caught behind by Nathan Brown as Upminster sensed victory. Dangerman Sam Crispin remained to give Hutton some hope, but that man Green produced an excellent direct hit from mid-on to send him back for 16. Tyler then claimed the last wicket as Hutton were all out for 43 to send Upminster through to the Final.

In the Final Upminster faced Beaulieu Park who had seen off Woodham Mortimer in a thrilling contest in the second semi-final. Upminster again won the toss and chose to bat first, and Munn and Tyler got them off to an excellent start, putting on 41 for the first wicket. However, their departures saw Upminster slide to 67-4 and it once again looked like they may struggle to post a competitive total. However, Brown and Shrey Shah batted sensibly together before Brown cut loose, striking two maximums in the final two overs to take his side to 104-4. Tyler struck in the first over of the Park reply with a sharp caught and bowled before Shah did well to hold on to a catch to dismiss dangerman Peter Kettley. Wickets continued to fall and Park were soon 50-5 but Jakes Barnard began to cut loose. However, 32 were needed from seven balls when Barnard chipped one to Gary Carr who after a few bites of the cherry held on to give Upminster the trophy.

For the Hunters (A side), runs were not a problem in their semi-final against Springfield, who had finished the league season as runner-up in the Premier Division. Nehal Butt and Ehsan Afzal got Upminster off to a rapid start, both reaching the retirement mark as their side passed 50 early in the fourth over. Pulkit Gupta and John Curtis kept up the rate before Curtis fell for 22, but Ollie White came in and reached his own retirement in just 10 balls. Scott Fisher was stumped as he looked to keep the scoreboard moving, and there was a late flurry of wickets as Butt and White returned to the crease before being dismissed. However, Upminster were more than satisfied with their score of 157-4 from 12 overs. The chase was always going to be a tough ask for Springfield, but Charlie Prudence and Troy Nice made a good start. However, Butt produced some stunning fielding to dismiss Nice and a collapse followed as the batting side fell from 20-1 to 33 all out as Upminster moved into the Final.

In the Final John Curtis’ side faced Hutton, and Butt struck with the second ball of the game as he bowled Tredgett without scoring. James Scammell and Tom Ballington rebuilt steadily but they were never able to break the stranglehold of Upminster’s attack. Butt and White were particularly impressive, and although former Upminster man Connor Whetstone made 22 the Hutton total of 78 looked a little under par. Butt and Afzal again made an impressive start before Butt was caught off Whetstone for 17, but Afzal and Gupta continued to take Upminster towards victory. Afzal was run out just short of the retirement mark, but it was fitting that this brought veteran John Curtis to the crease and he was able to hit the winning runs as he and Gupta took Upminster home by four wickets with eight balls to spare.

It was a great way to end the indoor season and a special mention must go to Ian Munn, John Curtis and Scott Fisher for running both of the sides through a sometimes difficult season.

Thanks are also due to Jordan McManus and his team of umpires and scorers at the Riverside League for making sure the league once again ran smoothly, and for getting things back up and running after an 18 month gap due to Covid.