SOUTHEND & EMT stayed second in the Division One standings with a two wicket win against Orsett & Thurrock.

Southend remain three points clear of third placed Harold Wood with just two games to go.

And skipper Joe Robbins was delighted to pick up another crucial victory.

“It was a very valuable 20 points to keep us in second place,” said Robbins.

“The plan after last week’s disappointing draw was to have a bowl and despite losing the toss we were lucky enough to be in the field.

“They got off to a good start at 100-1, but Callum (Druce) and Matt (Wagstaff) bowled really tightly to get the rate down to less than four which meant a few loose shots came around.

“We were able to chip away and bowl them out for 192 which I thought was a really good effort as it was a pretty decent wicket to bat on.”

However, Southend still had to dig deep when batting to be able to come out on top.

“We got off to a great start getting up to 90 without loss but, a bit like Orsett, we had a pretty impressive middle order collapse and at 145/7 I was pretty worried.

“But I know we bat deep and Callum again showed his quality batting at eight with good contributions from Ash (McCafferty) and Mike (Gridley) at the end thankfully got us over the line.”

Orsett batted first and made 192, with Robbins leading the way with 4-46.

McCafferty chipped in with 3-27 before Southend made a strong start to their own innings.

Tom Phillippe top scored with 49 while Oliver Wagstaff added 39 before Druce scored a crucial 33 not out to secure the victory.

Billericay were also celebrating after they moved up to fifth in the table with a five wicket win against Hadleigh & Thundersley.

Hadleigh batted first and made 160 in their innings, despite a strong start.

Openers Darius Vapiwala (51) and Paul Tibbenham (46) both impressed before Andy Smith and Ross Poulton ran riot with the ball, taking four wickets each.

Poulton then also impressed with the bat, scoring 65 not out to see Billericay home for a fine win.

And that left their captain David Houghton a happy man at the close of play.

“It was a solid win for us on Saturday which has helped us move to fifth in the table and given us a tiny bit more breathing space from the relegation zone,” said Houghton.

“Hadleigh were well placed on Saturday at 100/2.

“However after drinks Andy Smith and Ross Poulton were able to put the squeeze on which then produced a flow of wickets.

“Both of them bowled brilliantly.

“Ross then followed this up with the bat to carry us home with a 60 odd not out which was great to see.”

And Houghton will now be hoping for more of the same against already relegated Loughton this Saturday.

“We have Loughton this weekend and I feel if we win that one then we should secure our place in the middle of the table,” said the skipper.

“We can’t underestimate them though as they have nothing to lose.”

The defeat saw Hadleigh slip to seventh in the table, 16 points above the relegation side.

Adam Soilleux’s side face an intriguing local derby at high-flying Southend this weekend.