In-form Quedgeley and Hardwicke Cricket Club are hoping to make it six of the best when they travel to Eastcombe on Saturday.

The Gloucestershire County League Division Six pacesetters have won their opening five league games of the season, one of only three teams in the top six divisions to do so.

And that’s obviously something that has delighted captain Connor Millin, who is in his third season in charge.

“They’ve been pretty emphatic wins, it’s been pretty comfortable,” said the 25-year-old, who joined the club from Frampton on Severn some half-a-dozen years ago.

And the club’s success in 2022 is a continuation of the form they have shown over the past few seasons.

“When I joined the club we were in the Stroud League Premier Division,” explained Millin. “Then we won back-to-back promotions to reach Division Six of the County League.

“In the Covid season we won every game and then last season we just missed out on promotion when we finished third, we’ve made rapid strides over the past few years.”

Indeed they have and there’s certainly plenty of ambition at the club.

“We want to keep progressing, see how far we can go,” continued Millin, an opening bowler who bats in the middle order. “Realistically, with the team we’ve got at the moment I think we could get to Division Two or Division Three and that’s without bringing in any new players.

“We’re a young team and everyone trains really hard. We’re also playing in the midweek Gloucester T20 League and we’ve won every game in that as well.”

Ben Hopkins has been their star performer so far this season. He’s their leading runscorer – he’s already hit two centuries – and also their leading wicket-taker and Millin said of the one-time Frocester player: “He’s fantastic, he’s a phenomenal cricketer.

“He’s a right-hand bat and he’s just proper, absolutely textbook, high elbow.

“It’s the same with his bowling, he’s left-arm quick and he’s so easy on the eye, he makes the game look so easy.”

The 24-year-old Hopkins’ younger brother Adam has also been among the wickets. A right-arm seamer, Millin describes him as a “very good cricketer”, three words that apply equally to Mike Carratu, who opens the batting with Ben Hopkins.

“He’s having a blinder this season,” said Millin. “He’s our first-team coach this year and he’s doing really well. He’s a bit older than most of us, he’s in his late 30s while most of us are in our 20s.”

And it’s not just the club’s flagship team that are enjoying success this season because Millin said the 2^nd XI have won every game too, while the newly formed 3rds have won their last four matches.

There is also a strong youth set-up at the club – for girls as well as boys – as well as a women’s soft ball team.