HADLEIGH & Thundersley moved up to fifth in the Premier Division standings after beating Billericay by 102 runs.

Hadleigh made 182 in their innings before dismissing Billericay for just 80.

And Hadleigh skipper Adam Dobson was happy with the victory. 

"It was a great win for us and gets us closer to where we want to be in the Premier League," said Dobson.

"It was a tough game but the boys dug in with the bat really well to get us a target that proved to be really defendable."

But, in contrast, Billericay skipper Lee Knight was disappointed by the defeat.

“I was disappointed with the result on Saturday,” said Knight.

“We started well with the ball but probably let them score 50 too many.

“In response we lacked the application needed on a tricky wicket.

“We were a batsman down as unfortunately Darren Ironside had to go to A&E with a dislocated finger.

“But even so we didn’t cover ourselves in glory with the bat and Hadleigh deserved the points.”

However, Knight is keen to get back on track and end the campaign on a high.

“With three games to go we want to finish the season well and finish as high as possible in the table,” said Knight.

“Saturday is the first of two games at home but it’s going to be tough as Brentwood are fighting for the title.

“We will go into the game as underdogs but that suited us in the reverse fixture and hopefully Saturday will see another positive performance.”

Billericay will be looking to bounce back from Saturday’s setback which saw them put the hosts into bat first.

Hadleigh responded with a score of 182.

Luke Smith top scored for the home-side with 54 while Max Holmes added 44.

But it was Billericay’s Ross Poulton who caught the eye as he took seven wickets for 58 runs.

However, his efforts ultimately went unrewarded as Billericay struggled with the bat and were bowled out for just 80.

Poulton was also Billericay’s top scorer as he hit 27 but just three other batsmen reached double figures.

Hadleigh’s Richard Revell led the way with three wickets for 31 runs while Haider Ali Syed Zaidi took two wickets for just nine runs.

As a result, Hadleigh picked up 20 points for the win and are now seven points ahead of Billericay who are immediately below them in the standings.

In Division One, it was another disappointing day for bottom of the table Southend & EMT who were beaten by 191 runs against Shenfield.

Shenfield batted first and scored 271/6 before deciding to declare.

Carl Lees took four wickets for 63 runs before Southend were bowled out for 80 in reply.

Numan Khan top scored with 26.