With the weather having played its part in recent weeks, there was plenty still to be decided across the senior section. And while four teams had already completed their campaigns in terms of league positioning, the final weekend still produced a mixture of strong individual performances, hard-fought games and, ultimately, a championship celebration.

Most importantly, the 3rd XI finished their remarkable campaign as league champions, securing the title after an outstanding season that had already guaranteed promotion.

Here’s how the final weekend unfolded.

1st XI — A Strong Finish

The 1st XI finished their campaign with a home victory over Newham CC, with Ahmed Zulfiqar producing an excellent 70 to anchor the innings after a shaky start.

Captain Mo’ Amin provided valuable support, helping to steady the innings and guide Frenford towards a competitive total in tricky final-weekend conditions.

With the ball, it was once again the Pratik Bhalerao show.

Pratik continued his excellent second-half-of-the-season form with another four-wicket haul, while Ejaz Khan added three wickets and Danial Mahmood chipped in with two wickets from just 1.1 overs.

The result leaves the 1st XI in 5th place at the end of the league campaign — a respectable position in what has been a highly competitive division.

There will, however, inevitably be a sense of what might have been. Points dropped throughout the season could ultimately have made the difference and potentially put Frenford into a much stronger promotion challenge.

A season of plenty of positives, but also one that underlines just how important every point can be.

2nd XI — So Close

The 2nd XI travelled to Shenfield CC for their final fixture, with Captain Haroon Zakria winning the toss and electing to field.

The bowlers responded superbly on what appeared to be a bowler-friendly surface, with Adnan Choudhry leading the way with another four wickets and Yazaan Khursheed adding three more.

Their combined efforts restricted Shenfield to 121 all out from 36 overs.

In reply, Captain Haroon led from the front with a valuable 35, but unfortunately couldn't find enough support from the top order. Umer Imtiaz added 25, but with the remaining contributions largely in single figures, Frenford were eventually bowled out for 115.

A narrow defeat to finish the campaign leaves the 2nd XI in 5th place in a fiercely competitive division.

And the margins tell the story. Just 30 points separated 5th place from the promotion positions across the season.

Having been right in the promotion conversation, it is understandably frustrating to finish just short. But there is plenty to build on from another competitive campaign.

As always, we go again.

3rd XI — CHAMPIONS!

The 3rd XI went into their final fixture knowing promotion had already been secured, but with the opportunity to finish the campaign as league champions.

Losing the toss, Khuram Dar’s side were put into the field against a strong Oakfield Parkonians CC outfit. Hassan Saeed produced one of his strongest spells of the season, finishing with an excellent four-wicket haul from his nine overs.

Despite that, Oakfield Parkonians kept the scoreboard moving and posted an imposing 321 from their 45 overs.

Frenford responded positively, with Rohit Puthawala, Zulfi Hussain and Taseen Ansari leading the chase, supported by contributions from Captain Khuram and Ayaan.

As the overs disappeared, the chase began to look increasingly difficult, and a steady flow of wickets eventually saw Frenford all out for 238.

That left the championship hopes dependent on results elsewhere.

And then came the wait.

Thankfully, the news was good.

FRENFORD 3RD XI — HAMRO FOUNDATION ESSEX LEAGUE DIVISION 13 CHAMPIONS.

Promotion secured. Championship secured.

What a season.

A full celebration of the 3rd XI’s championship-winning campaign will follow separately.

4th XI — Fight, Character & Plenty to Build On

Stand-in skipper Usman Hussain finished the campaign with plenty of pride in his young side.

One of the major highlights was the partnership between Lucas Pike and Imran Ali Khan, who dug Frenford out of a difficult position and combined to post a competitive total.

With the ball, Isa Chaudhary's opening spell stood out. Usman felt his figures did not reflect the quality of the bowling, with Isa delivering serious pace and being unfortunate not to come away with more wickets.

Young Ibby continued to demonstrate his usual consistency with the ball, while Armaan Qaisar once again provided reliability and support to his stand-in captain throughout.

Perhaps most pleasingly, Usman highlighted the team's togetherness, with the players remaining together and supporting their batsmen throughout the innings.

The one area for improvement was the middle period, when the side lost some intensity.

For a young group, though, that is exactly the sort of experience that can be learned from.

A positive finish, plenty of development and plenty to work on over the off-season.

5th XI — A Winning Finish

The 5th XI signed off their season in style with a good away victory against local neighbours Redbridge CC — always a well-fought, competitive and, importantly, amicable fixture between the two clubs.

Losing the toss, Captain Razi Siddiqui’s young side were asked to field first and made an immediate impact, with Aadam Imtiaz and Ishraq Fazal making early breakthroughs to remove Redbridge’s opening pair.

Despite some resistance through the middle order, Frenford’s young bowlers kept the pressure on, with the bowling shared around and wickets falling at regular intervals.

Yoosuf, Ishraq, Aadam and Captain Razi all claimed two wickets apiece as Redbridge were eventually bowled out for 168 in 38.1 overs.

The Frenford reply followed a similar pattern, with early wickets putting the young side under pressure.

But Amaan Khoda, Aadam Imtiaz and Captain Razi all produced accomplished innings to steer Frenford through the chase and secure a deserved victory.

A fitting way to finish the campaign — a fun, friendly but competitive local derby, and a strong win for a young Frenford side.

And That's a Wrap...

And so, the 2026 senior league campaign comes to an end.

There have been wins, defeats, rain, promotion battles, near misses and, ultimately, a league championship to celebrate.

The 3rd XI’s title and promotion provide the perfect headline, while the performances and development across the other senior sides give plenty of encouragement for the future.

To all our captains, players, coaches, scorers, volunteers, grounds staff and supporters — thank you for another summer of Frenford cricket.

The league season may be over, but the work never stops.

We go again in '27