TOM Ullyott was pleased to see his Colchester and East Essex side confirm their Shepherd Neame Essex League premier division status for another year following victory at lowly South Woodford.

The Castle Park side ran out narrow ten-run winners, in a match where rain made conditions difficult for both sets of players.

A damp pitch delayed the start of the contest for more than half an hour and umpires deducted five overs per side.

But Colchester prevailed to claim 25 points with their win and move up to fifth place in the table, guaranteeing their premier division status.

Skipper Ullyott said: "It was a big tight but we got there in the end.

"It was pleasing to see the character we showed after the previous week.

"It was nice to win and confirm our status in the division for another year and now we can look forward to the final two games."

Having been put into bat, Colchester made 174 in their 54.3 overs.

Jack Hebron, batting down the order, hit 44 in a crucial 67-run partnership with Andrew Kennedy (23).

"It was wet and windy and we got the worst of the conditions to start with," said Ullyott.

"I think they wanted to try and get a result given their position and there was no reason for us to not want to get one, either.

"The pitch was a bit green and damp - it was swinging a bit and there was water on the wicket when we batted on it.

"The conditions weren't great but we had targeted a total of at least 170 and I think we were satisfied with what we got in the end.

"The partnership of around 70 between Jack Hebron and Andrew Kennedy was a crucial one.

"Jack has opened the batting for us all year but we put him down to bat at five and I think he quite enjoyed it.

"Quite a few players reached double figures for us and they all helped in the end."

South Woodford's batsman made a solid start in reply but once Ben Stephens claimed the wicket of opener Richard Browne, more quickly followed.

Stephens ended up with impressive figures of 6-23 in his 12.2 overs, while Ollie Bocking claimed 3-54 in his 13 overs.

Ullyott said: "They got off to a flyer but then once we got our first wicket, more quickly followed in a short space of time.

"They were at 58 for seven at one stage and Ben Stephens did really well as did Ollie Bocking, who didn't have too much luck on the day.

"I was also pleased with the fielding which was better, in difficult conditions."

Colchester II (203) were beaten by five wickets by Brentwood (207-5) in the second XI premier division but the club's third team (165) defeated Upminster (98) by 67 runs in third XI division one.