Colchester and East Essex captain Jake Foley says their impressive victory over fellow promotion hopefuls Harold Wood has put them back where they want to be.

Their seven-wicket triumph at Castle Park lifted them above their opponents and back into the top two, in Shepherd Neame Essex League Division One.

Six different players claimed wickets for Colchester in restricting Harold Wood to 223 all out, before Jack Hebron hit an unbeaten 94 to help the hosts seal victory.

Foley told the Daily Gazette: “We knew how important the game was and it was good to get the win we wanted.

“We know we can’t be slipping up again and the lads did well.

“It puts us back into the promotion places which is where we want to be.

“Harold Wood are a decent side and had we lost, they’d have been up there and we’d have dropped down the table, so it was a very good result for us.

“Going up this season is the most important thing for us and when we’re in the top two, it’s in our own hands.”

After electing to bat first, Harold Wood made a strong start and a strong opening-wicket stand gave them a good platform from which to build.

But their openers departed in quick succession and after that, wickets fell fairly regularly with Foley finishing with 3-45 and Hebron chipping in with 2-30.

Foley said: “We put in a good all-round bowling performance and we did well as a team to restrict them to a score of 223.

“At one stage, Harold Wood were 80 for no wicket, so to get them all out for that total was great.

“Everyone stepped up and did their job well.

“I was pleased with my individual display – it was about time I got a couple of wickets!

“But it was all about the team performance, which was very good.”

Colchester matched their visitors’ strong start with the bat, with opening pair Joe MacGregor (75) and Julian Russell (41) putting on 69 for the first wicket.

Once they had departed, Hebron continued the momentum brilliantly to steer the hosts home.

Foley added: “It was relatively straight forward and Joe MacGregor played extremely well.

“He set us up well and made sure that we wouldn’t fall short of our target.

“There were some very good batting performances including that of Jack Hebron, who was outstanding.

“He’s playing well and he was always going to be an important player for us, this season, which is proving the case.

“He’s giving everything to the cause and he’s been a pleasure to captain, this season.”

Colchester lost out in the final of the Dukes Essex T20 competition, at Billericay.

Having beaten Upminster by seven wickets in their semi-final, they lost to Hornchurch by 28 runs in the final.

Foley added: “There was a bit of disappointment at the end that we didn’t go all the way and win it.

“It was a shame that we fell a bit short, on the day.

“But we won the semi-final and considering the team we had out, getting to the final was a big thing and we can hold our heads up high.

“Now we’ll be focusing our attention fully on the league.”

In the Shepherd Neame Essex League Second XI Premier Division, Colchester II remain bottom after losing by 206 runs at Harold Wood II.