Upminster Cricket Club are an important part of our local community. Their 6th XI Captain, Paul Middlemiss, has sent us an update of what has been happening at the club in this turbulent year.

Despite the situation over the last nine months, a reduced club cricket season was able to take place during the summer, under strict guidelines, and Upminster CC were able to enjoy an action packed few weeks.

With lockdown still in place when the season was due to start in April, training for the club’s 230 junior players moved on-line as ten weeks of Zoom coaching sessions took place across six nights each week. Over 2,000 hits were recorded on the sessions in total as the club ensured it’s young players were able to continue with some structured physical activity. During lockdown the club also organised two on-line social events which raised over £15,000, a total which was split between the Club and local NHS charities. The Club’s committee were overwhelmed with the support of members and friends that helped raise such an amazing sum.

Outdoor cricket began in mid-July with the senior divisions of the Essex Cricket League revamped for one season to reduce the travel burden. All of the Club’s senior sides enjoyed excellent seasons with the 1st XI finishing as runners up in their section and the 2nd XI claiming the title in theirs. There were 4th, 2nd and 3rd place finishes for the 3rd, 4th and 5th XIs respectively and a 6th XI was fielded on most weekends such was the demand for cricket and physical activity after so long in lockdown.

Our junior teams also crammed more than 60 games into a ten week season, with over 200 young players representing the club. The U9s crowned the season on the final weekend by winning the Metropolitan Essex District Cup, the second time in three years the club has claimed this title.

On Sundays the intra-club Windmill Whack T20 competition took place for the fifth year, and in 2020, despite the difficulties, a ladies version of the event took place for the first time, with nearly 100 ladies taking part.

The club are hugely grateful for the ongoing support of their sponsors, especially during these strange times. Many of these sponsors have been partners of the club for a long time and without their backing 2020 may well have been a more worrying and difficult time for the club. As with many local organisations, 2020 has been a strange and trying time for Upminster CC, but the spirit that the whole of the Upminster and Cranham community has shown has been evident within the club and means we look forward with hope and confidence to 2021.

Paul Middlemiss

By Editor on 22nd November 2020   /   News   /   Leave a comment