The U19s shocked favoured Upminster with a tenacious bowling and fielding performance to defend the meagre total of 91 and advance to the Essex County finals of the NatWest U19T20.

On a dry and dusty surface, the Goresbrook batsmen struggled to counter the pace and bounce of Max Carter-Miller and Will Chuter with the new ball and leg spinner Connor Whetstone offered little respite as the ball grew softer, Goresbrook struggling to 58-5 after 15 overs with Stuart Greaves (29) the only batsman to play with any fluency. However rallied by some smart attacking shots from Harry Jackson and Danny Gillham, both of whom made 13, Goresbrook battled in the last 5 overs to 91-7 from their allocation, Carter-Miller (3-10) and Julian Whetstone (2-17) being the main wicket takers in an impressive bowling and fielding performance from Upminster.

If we were to have any chance of springing a surprise, early wickets were key and Billy Smith obliged, bowling Frank Hazle and Arun Kullar before Bobby Gaymer got in on the action, having Julian Whetstone held low by Shane Barwick at extra-cover and running out Jordan Tigg with an accurate throw from the boundary.

With Upminster at 16-4 from the first 6 overs it was now clear that 91 was defendable and the Goresbrook bowlers, backed up by some excellent ground fielding, made runs hard to come by for Upminster. Further wickets for Smith, who completed an excellent spell of 3-12 and another Gaymer runout sandwiched an lbw decision for Harry Jackson and at 7 wickets down Upminster required 17 to win from the final 2 overs with the pressure on the set batsman Connor Whetstone. A tight over from Shane Barwick, who went for just 9 runs from his 4 over spell, made the equation 12 from the final over and Harry Jackson held his nerve, putting the ball on a length in the fading light restricting the Upminster batsmen to just 3 runs.

Goresbrook move on to the Essex Finals day at Billericay on Sunday 11 September where they will meet the winners of the other 3 Quarter Finals:

Wanstead & Snaresbrook v Saffron Walden
Oakfield Parkonians v Rainham
Colchester & East Essex v Hutton