It was a record breaking season for our women's teams, with more games played than in any previous season and more players representing our three women's teams than ever before.

Leading the way were the 1st XI, who did not know what to expect ahead of their first season in the Essex Premier League Division One, but they needn't have worried as they went on to more than hold their own.  After an intra-club friendly in mid-April, it was a National T20 Cup tie to open the season for the 1st XI.  Hutton won the toss at Coopers and asked Upminster to bat, but they were probably regretting that after what happened over the next 90 minutes!! Paige Roche, making her debut for the club, smashed an unbeaten 155 from just 76 balls, and with fellow opener Harriet Goodey ending 52 not out , Upminster closed on a staggering 218-0.  Hutton batted well to use all of their 20 overs, but Upminster won by 96 runs to move forward to a second round tie with Slough that was never played due to logistical reasons.

Hutton were also due to be the first opposition of the league season, but the weather meant the game was Abandoned without a ball being bowled, and so the first league action was at Wanstead and Snaresbrook on Bank Holiday weekend.  Edie Ayliffe batted the entire Upminster innings (40 overs) to make a brilliant unbeaten half century for Upminster, and while a total of 116-8 looked a little under par, it very nearly proved enough.  Alice Ayliffe claimed three wickets and for some time it looked like Upminster may claim a famous win before Wanstead squeezed home by one wicket.  Upminster didn't have to wait long for their first league win though, getting off the mark a week later at Harold Wood.  Felicity Russell claimed three wickets to help bowl out Wood for 162.  Goodey and Roche then combined once again to take Upminster to the brink of victory, and while there were some late nerves, Upminster eventually won by five wickets.  

The first home league game of the season saw Colchester and East Essex come to Coopers, and Goodey was again in the runs as Upminster batted first.  The rest of the top six all made double figures, but nobody was able to push on and Upminster were bowled out for 169.  The game was in the balance as Colchester found themselves 61-2, but Julia Hoal batted superbly to end on 107 not out as the visitors won by eight wickets.  

The Division One league campaign then took a mid-season break as the Essex Premier League Hundred competition made its debut at Upminster Park.  Also making her debut was Upminster's South African overseas star, Sunette Viljoen-Louw.  "Suni" would go on to be the outstanding Essex Women's Premier League player of the season, and she started as she meant to go on making 57 not out in Game 1 to help Upminster to a five wicket win, after Vicky Waters had earlier picked up 2-6.  "Suni" was at it again in Game 2 (also against Hutton), making 48 not out as she and Paige Roche saw Upminster to a comfortable ten wicket win.  Lois Gable had earlier taken 4-12 for the home side.  The Hundred continued a week later as Upminster travelled to Wanstead and Snaresbrook, but they ended up coming away empty handed after two tight contests.  In the first game of the day, Viljoen-Louw and Roche put Upminster into a great position at 101-1 chasing 123 to win, but a flurry of wickets saw Upminster come up agonisingly short.  In the following game Viljoen-Louw made yet another half century as Upminster tried to chase 131, but no other batters reached double figures and they fell 42 runs short.  The final weekend of June saw Colchester and East Essex travel to Upminster Park for the next set of Hundred games, and the first game of the afternoon was an absolute thriller.  Viljoen-Louw made 60, and with Georgia Hayes and Alice Ayliffe also in the runs Upminster posted 127-4.  Julia Hoal made a fast start at the beginning of the Colchester reply, but she was removed by Coco Thomas (3-11) as Upminster foughtback.  Harriet Goodey and Lois Gable also picked up two wickets each, but Colchester just about held their nerve to win by two wickets from the very last ball of the game.  Upminster got their revenge in convincing style in the second game of the day.  Keya Shah claimed 3-13 as Colchester were restricted to 106-8, before Roche smashed 62 from 30 in the chase, and with Viljoen-Louw making 42 not out, Upminster cruised home by nine wickets, with 46 balls to spare.  Frustratingly, the last batch of Hundred games were abandoned without a ball being bowled.  Those games were against bottom of the table Harold Wood, and so Upminster finished the competition in fourth place in the table.  Two wins in those final two games would have taken them into second place.

The 1st XI returned to Division One action in mid-July and  put in a great performance at Hutton to pick up another victory.  Hutton batted first and Amy Hills made an excellent 89 to put them in a good position, but two wickets apiece from Beth Libby and Paige Roche saw Hutton end on 210-9.  That never looked enough when Viljoen-Louw got going, and the South African went on to make a brilliant unbeaten 137.  Georgia Hayes and Edie Ayliffe also made good contributions as Upminster won by eight wickets with plenty of time to spare.  Wanstead and Snaresbrook came to Upminster Park a week later, but the home side kept up their good form with another solid performance.  Viljoen-Louw was at it again, making 88 from just 67 balls and there were also good contributions from Edie Ayliffe, Hayes, Harriet Goodey, Coco Thomas and captain Zoe Quested as Upminster piled up 275-6.  It was then over to Keya Shah, who produced the bowling performance of the season!!  Shah took the first five Wanstead wickets on her way to extraordinary figures of 6-26 as Upminster won by 102 runs.

Harold Wood conceded the penultimate Division One game of the season, so Upminster travelled to Colchester and East Essex for their final contest knowing a win against the already crowned champions would assure them of the runners-up spot.  Colchester won the toss and asked Upminster to bat, and what then took place was one of the most amazing innings in Upminster's history.  Sunette Viljoen-Louw made full use of an excellent Castle Park wicket to smash an unbeaten 207, from just 114 balls as Upminster piled up a huge score.  Viljoen-Louw shared in a stand of 177 for the third wicket with Georgia Hayes as the visitors went on to post 343-6.  Remarkably, 20 overs into their reply the home side were up with the required run rate thanks to Julia Hoal (76) and Emily Eves (98),but two wickets from Captain Quested ensured Upminster went on to secure a 34 run win.  It all meant Upminster were confirmed as runners-up in their first season at this level, a remarkable achievement coming just over four years after the women's and girls section of the club was relaunched.  

The Women's 2nd XI were playing in their first competitive season having entered Division Three of the Essex Premier League, and they went on to enjoy a brilliant campaign, which was capped by claiming top-spot at the end of the season, and promotion to Division Two for 2025.  The season actually started slowly for the 2nd XI, with their league opener at Billericay washed out and Frenford conceding their league game in early May.  The season finally got underway against Galleywood at the end of the month, and Coco Thomas made 61 not out as Upminster posted 188-4 against Galleywood (games in Division Three were 30 overs-per-side).  Caitlin Smith then picked up 2-15 as Galleywood were restricted to 116-7 to give Upminster victory.

Thomas and Keya Shah did the damage with the ball a week later as East Anglian Veterans were bowled out for 57 at Coopers before Lauren Plumb helped see Upminster to a convincing seven wicket win, but they did suffer their only defeat of the season a week later in a thriller at Walthamstow.  Plumb took 2-21 but Stow' batted steadily to make 159-6.  Upminster made a solid start in reply thanks to Emma Noller and Alex Semon, but the required run rate began to climb in the middle overs.  Plumb and Kara Smith didn't give up the fight though and took the game to the last over.  Plumb ended on 41 not out but Upminster fell just four runs short.  Upminster bounced back two weeks later with a crucial win at Benfleet.  Opener and captain Louise Mabey made 61 for Benfleet, but Upminster came back later in the innings as Fleet were bowled out for 115.  Upminster lost three early wickets in reply, but Noller and Holly Minney both batted well to see Upminster to a four wicket win.

Upminster had now moved into second place in the table, and they began the second half of the season with a fine all round performance against Frenford at Coopers.  Amelia Davies (3-21), Daisy Middlemiss (2-18) and Jami Armes (2-23) were the pick of a consistent attack as Frenford were bowled out for 126.  Upminster looked in trouble at 21-3 before Middlemiss and Alex Semon steadied the ship and Holly Minney and captain Angela Green took their side to a three wicket win.  The top of the table clash with Billericay a week later was unfortunately washed out, but a week after that Upminster moved a step closer to promotion with a comfortable win at Galleywood.  Six bowlers claimed a wicket for Upminster, with Imogen Croker and Lauren Plumb the pick of the attack as the home side were bowled out for 121.  Jami Armes and Croker then put Upminster into a good position before Plumb made 46 not out and was joined by Emily Woodgate to see Upminster over the line.  

With three games to go, Upminster were closing in on leaders Billericay, and they kept up the pressure with another win against East Anglian Veterans at Kelvedon.  East Anglian included a certain Enid Bakewell MBE in their side, with the former England international and ICC Hall of Famer still playing the game at 83 years of age!!  Bakewell finished five not out for the home side, but Upminster skipper Angela Green picked up three wickets to help restrict the Veterans to 130-7.  Jamie Armes and Emily Woodgate put on 92 for the first wicket as Upminster started their reply and Armes went on to make her first half century for the club as Maisie Coles and Emma Noller saw Upminster over the line with more than six overs to spare.  Billericay fell to a shock defeat on the same afternoon so Upminster moved to the top of the table ahead of their home game with Walthamstow.  Green and Lauren Plumb picked up two wickets apiece, before Stow's middle order batted sensibly to reach 147-6.  The experienced opening pair of Karen Burley and Sarah Lowrie got Upminster off to a good start in their innings and Green added some runs in the middle order.  Coles and Kara Smith then saw their side home without any major worries.  The final game of the season with Benfleet was unfortunately washed out, but that didn't stop Upminster finishing in top-spot and securing promotion to Division Two.  It was an excellent effort from everyone who played in the side, many of whom were playing senior cricket for the first time during the season.  Captain Angela Green moulded a side of experienced and returning players along with a number of promising youngsters, and ensured everyone who played gained good experience and was given plenty of opportunities to show what they were capable of.

Women's 1st XI Leading Run Scorers (League and Cup):
Sunette Viljoen-Louw - 747
Paige Roche - 364
Harriet Goodey - 215
Georgia Hayes - 126
Edie Ayliffe - 117

Women's 1st XI Leading Wicket Takers (League and Cup):
Keya Shah - 13
Harriet Goodey - 10
Lois Gable - 8 
Felicity Russell - 7
Zoe Quested - 7

Women's 2nd XI Leading Run Scorers (League):
Lauren Plumb - 126
Jamie Armes - 92
Emma Noller - 76
Holly Minney - 76
Coco Thomas - 61

Women's 2nd XI Leading Wicket Takers (League):
Lauren Plumb - 11
Angela Green - 9
Coco Thomas - 5 
Daisy Middlemiss - 4
Six Bowlers - 3 (C Smith, K Smith, K Shah, J Armes, T Woodgate, A Davies)

Our Women's Softball Team also enjoyed another excellent season, once again reaching Finals Day at the County Ground, Chelmsford.  The group stages of this year's County Softball Series saw them face old friends Rainham and new opposition in Hornchurch Athletic.  Three midweek round robin events took place, with Upminster winning all six of their games across the three nights, the highlight of which was a four run win over Rainham in July.  Ten teams advanced from the group stages to Finals Day, with Upminster finishing in fourth place on the day (therefore finishing fourth overall from 38 teams who started the competition at the start of the season).  Our softball side also took part in brilliant festivals at Brentwood and Hornchurch during the season (winning all of their games in both of these).

All in all it was a hugely successful and enjoyable season for everyone involved with our women's teams.  A record number of games were played, a record number of players took part, there were some record breaking performances and some silverware to round off the season!!  Well done to everyone involved and to all of those who made this happen (especially Angela Green, Vicky Waters and all of our captains and vice-captains).  We look forward to the winter indoor season and to the 2025 summer season where we hope to see even more women's and girls cricket taking place.