Southend picked up their first victory of the season - much to the relief of skipper Wayne Spear.

The seasiders were put in after losing the toss and saw openers Numan Khan (72) and Dave Aldridge (45) get off to a flyer.

Ian Heiser (18) then kept Khan company until Southend started losing wickets. They went 160-4 to 195 all out after a batting collapse.

Things did not look good when Harold Wood hit the first two overs for 30 before Shazad Zadi (4-64) and Ben Wathen (2-47) pegged the visitors back. Dave Aldridge (3-3) mopped up the tail in a couple of overs to dismiss Wood for 137.

"It was a good win," said Spear. "It was quite comfortable in the end, but there were a couple of moments when things were looking tricky. We should have got 240, but we bowled and fielded very well and it was good to finally get the win."

Published Tuesday June 29, 2004

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