SOUTHEND & EMT skipper Tom Phillippe was full of smiles after leading his side to their first victory of the Premier Division season.

Southend saw off Shenfield by two wickets at Southchurch Park.

And Phillippe was quick to praise his players.

“It was really pleasing to get our first win of the season, but it was one I felt we deserved,” said Phillippe.

“We bowled brilliantly to restrict them to a below par total and every bowler played a crucial role.

“Mo (Mohammed Rizvi) was brilliant picking up five wickets and he was supported brilliantly by Alex Hatton at the other end in restricting them.

“Then to chase down the score was just fantastic with Alex Karkoski and Adam Rendall, our two opening bowlers, putting on 95 for the ninth wicket to get across the line.”

And Phillippe was particularly pleased to have triumphed after initially fearing another defeat.

“In the back of my mind, I thought we had lost,” said Phillippe, who took over the captaincy at the start of the season.

“We’ve had too many things go against us this year and that was the way I thought it would go again.

“There was a big sigh of relief and a lot of joy when we won.

“We’ve worked so hard and had things go against us so to win a game is just what the team needed.”

And Phillippe feels the victory will boost his players.

“It’s going to really help us,” said Phillippe.

“The team will have the belief we can win games now and it will give us more confidence moving forward.”

Shenfield batted first and made 212 in their innings.

Rizvi was the pick of Southend’s bowlers as he took five wickets for 43 runs, while Joe Robbins (3-30) and Karkoski (2-43) also made key contributions.

But Southend began their reply with Robbins being the highest scorer in the top seven with 18.

However, Southend’s lower order dug deep to get the hosts back in the game.

Arafat Bhuiyan scored a vital 34 but was bowled by Essex’s Aaron Beard before Karkoski and Rendall took centre stage.

Rendall finished on 48 not out, while Karkoski hit 39 not out to help Southend secure what had seemed an unlikely triumph.

Despite the defeat, bottom of the table Southend remain 40 points from safety.

However, Southend will now be looking for another win when they travel to near neighbours Hadleigh & Thundersley this weekend.