NEW captain Gareth Edwards says Elton are loving life in the Greater Manchester Cricket League and believes his current squad would be extremely competitive a tier higher up should they gain promotion from Division Two A this summer.

Edwards, in his fifth season at All Saints and first as skipper having replaced David Murray, is delighted with their start to 2018 having won four out of five games, including Saturday’s seven-wicket victory at Werneth.

Elton currently sit fourth, a point behind joint leaders Shaw, Westleigh and Littleborough Lakeside, who all have 23 points.

Saturday saw Werneth bowled out for 153 as Edwards, with the new ball, Chris Barlow and miserly Steven Filkins (2-19 from 15 overs) all claimed two wickets.

Opener Adam Stansfield and Damion Keegan then led the chase with 75 not out and 54, respectively, sharing 85 for the third wicket. The win was secured with 18.4 overs remaining.

“We bowled very well as a unit,” said Edwards, a former England Under-19s international having played for home county Glamorgan and then Surrey.

“Then, batting-wise, we knocked them off comfortably. We were always up with the rate and never in any danger.

“It was good to bounce back because the previous week we had our only defeat. Westleigh gave us a bit of a hammering.

“But now we’re four wins from five, which is a very good start.

“It’s still very early, but it looks to be five or six teams who will be battling out for those two promotions spots and then the rest will be battling it out to avoid the two relegation places.

“It does look, at this stage, to be two leagues in one.

“If someone had told me at the start of the season we’d have won four from five, I’d have gone ‘Yes, thank you very much’.

“I’m delighted we’re in the GMCL because I think the pyramid structure is great.

“Eventually, over the course of four to five seasons, teams will find their level and will be playing competitive cricket week in, week out.

“I think we can go one division higher with our current crop of players.

“I don’t think we’d want to go any higher than that at the moment simply because we don’t want to be in a league where we are on the wrong end of it most weeks.

“The aim of the pyramid structure should not be that everyone aims for the Premier Division.

“It should be everyone aiming to get as high as they can without stretching the club too far and being able to play competitive cricket every week.

“It hasn’t worked out just yet to reorder the leagues and will take time, but we’re really enjoying it as a club because we get to go to new places. That keeps it fresh.”

Edwards was an under-19s contemporary of Andrew Flintoff, Matthew Hoggard, Andrew Strauss, Marcus Trescothick and Andrew Strauss.

“Pretty much the 2005 Ashes-winning era,” he said.

After leaving county cricket, he joined the BBC and has worked there since 1999, including his current role as executive producer of A Question of Sport.

So, if you are wondering What Happens Next, Edwards is hoping it is promotion for Elton come September.