SOUTHEND & EMT kicked off life in the Premier Division with an 83 run defeat at Wanstead & Snaresbrook.

Southend, who won promotion from Division One last season, were bowled out for 212 in reply to Wanstead’s 259/9.

And skipper Joe Robbins was disappointed to suffer an opening day setback.

“Obviously it’s extremely disappointing to lose, especially in the manner that we did,” said Robbins.

“But I felt we were always in the game and, at one stage, when Matt Wagstaff was hitting it so cleanly we looked as though maybe we could push on towards victory.

“However, in the end their quality shone through and unfortunately we were bowled out.”

Wanstead were crowned champions last season and therefore handed Southend the toughest possible start to the season.

And Robbins was able to notice an immediate step up in standard.

“For me the two noticeable differences were the strength in batting depth, and the quality of the bowling,” said Robbins.

“They have three county cricketers in their top six so it’s always going to be difficult but that’s the challenge we face this year and one we will relish.”

And Robbins was also keen to point out it was not all doom and gloom for Southend.

“There are a huge amount of positives for us to take from the game,” said Robbins.

“To come away with seven points is a good day for us.

“Plenty of teams will come away with less at Wanstead.

“We stuck with it really well with the ball and kept picking up wickets at the right times.

“With the bat, our top order all looked the part albeit without a real sizeable score but that’s something we will learn from going forward.”

Southend opted to field first after winning the toss at Wanstead and were celebrating a wicket within the first two balls of the game as Arfan Akram was caught by Alex Karkoski off the bowling of Robbins.

However, a century partnership from Hassan Chowdhury and Feroze Khushi put the home-side back in control.

Khushi was eventually dismissed for 34 and Chowdhury 68 before Joe Ellis-Grewal added 62.

Jonathan Das then scored a fine 74 from just 61 with an explosive innings which included five sixes.

With the ball for Southend, Karkoski took 3-76 and their new overseas player Harry Ridgewell took 2-57.

Robbins ended on 1-56 as Wanstead finished their innings on 295/9.

In reply, Southend started poorly with Sam Rowe being dismissed for just one.

However, Oliver Wagstaff and wicketkeeper Tom Phillippe then began to impress before they were both dismissed for 40.

Ridgewell was then 13 before Matt Wagstaff and Robbins also formed a good partnership.

But Wagstaff was out for 33 to leave Robbins in the middle, where he eventually finished on 67 not out.

However, Southend’s lower order failed to fire with none of their bottom five scoring more than four.

As a result, Southend lost their final five wickets for just 34 runs.

And Robbins is now keen to see a reaction from his side when they host Chingford at Southchurch Park this weekend.

“It’s hugely important to bounce back next week but we go into it with a huge amount of confidence despite this result,” said Robbins.

“But there’s no easy game in this league.

“Chingford had a resounding win on Saturday so they will be brimming with confidence.

“But it’s up to us to try and make Southchurch Park into a bit of a fortress and hopefully that starts this weekend with a good win.”