Cheltenham Civil Service’s six of the best are once again proving a match for everyone this season.

The club have long had an impressive indoor cricket six-a-side team and they are again setting a fast pace at the top of Division One of the Cheltenham Indoor Cricket League.

They have won all seven of their games so far – they made it a magnificent seven with a win over Cheltenham this week – and it will require a spectacular collapse for them not to win the title again.

So what’s the secret of their success?

“We play indoor cricket quite aggressively, especially when we’re batting,” said all-rounder Craig Baker.

“We score a lot of runs and we score them quickly. We play the ball into the gaps and we run very hard.

“We do take chances with our running which is why we have a fair number of run outs, but it’s worth taking the risks.”

It certainly is because in their two previous campaigns – there was no competition last winter because of Covid – they have made it through to the national competition.

“We reached the last 16 in Taunton 2019 and the last eight in Taunton in 2020,” added Baker.

That’s pretty good going and the next target is to reach the last four, which would see them play indoors at Lord’s.

“You have to play a lot of cricket to get that far,” continued Baker. “I think you need to win 10 or 11 games in the national competition just to get to Lord’s but it would be fantastic if we could.”

Baker has been a mainstay of the team in recent seasons and their line-up certainly has a pretty familiar look.

“George Leadbetter and Robbie Baker always get us off to a fast start, and then Brad Attwood is our no 3. He’s very solid, he’s our Dawid Malan,” said Baker, who bats at four.

“Our captain Callum Wilson comes in at five with Steve Bridge at six, those two open the bowling.”

Matches consist of 12 six-ball overs with a bowler only able to bowl three overs.

Service play all their matches at Leisure at Cheltenham and Baker said: “If you score 100 then more often than not you win.

“If we bat first we always aim for 120.”

Ironically, batting first is not something that Service have done so far this season.

“If we win the toss we always bowl first and if the opposition win the toss they always bat,” added Baker.

The super six who regularly make up Service’s indoor team are also pretty much regulars in the club’s 1^st XI who will play in Division One of the County League in the summer.

“Outdoor cricket is our bread and butter,” said Baker. “We play indoor cricket for fun. We’ve done really well in indoor cricket for a number of years but I prefer outdoor cricket.

“Indoor cricket is a completely different game. If you play ‘normal cricket’ and hit the ball to mid-on and mid-off that doesn’t really work.

“You are better almost mis-hitting the ball and finding the gaps. And you don’t want to hit the ball too hard because it will bounce back off the wall and be easier for a player to field.”

Service’s biggest rivals are Cheltenham and they are the only side to have inflicted a defeat on them this season, beating them in the league cup final.

“They played really well, they deserved it,” said Baker.

And the big two are almost certain to contest the play-off final between the league champions and the cup winners, the winners of which will go forward to the national competition.

There’s certainly plenty to play for.