Phoenix West Indians have crept up on the inside to lead the Bristol & District First Division after six matches.

All the talk this year has centred on Hanham, Old Down and Bristol YMCA battling it out for the title and the two promotion spots.

But the Windies have played at a higher level in recent years. Two seasons ago they were relegated from the Senior Division and last summer finished just 0.4 points behind second-placed Failand & Portbury.

And now they are top of the pile and enjoy a slender lead over Hanham and Old Down, who have also won four matches, lost one game and had a contest cancelled.

Secretary Lawrence Smith said: "It's going to be tough. There are quite a few good teams in there. There's Old Down and YMCA, for example.

"We would love to go up – our aim is to be in the Senior Division, work from there and see what happens.

"It has been really good for us so far. Last year was a fairly good season for us but we were unlucky. We missed out on promotion by a couple of points."

The Windies were due to face Hanham last weekend but that match fell foul of the weather.

They have beaten their neighbours YMCA by 22 runs, Coalpit Heath by two wickets and Bristol Sri Lankans by nine wickets, Nathan Bowen taking 7-33, after losing to Bristol Pakistanis by 20 runs.

Phoenix claimed a six-wicket win against Long Ashton on the opening day of the summer thanks to Parish Harper hitting an unbeaten 85.

But Smith believes 20-year-old Ashleigh Joyner has come of age this summer, especially when making 29 not out in the win against Coalpit Heath, which came with 14 balls to spare.

"Ashliegh is turning into a good player," added Smith. "He has shown potential but I'm not sure what he wants to be – whether that's a batsman, bowler or a wicketkeeper.

"But he has been the lynchpin of innings and held it all together. He has scored about 20-odd but he has been the top scorer in the last two matches."

Phoenix have also set up a junior section in the last 12 months. The club's Under-11 side are going strong, but the Under-13s have folded.

Yet Smith, who is the youth team co-ordinator along with Ash Joseph, is determined the Windies will persist with the youngsters despite having more established clubs in the area.

"Having a junior set up ensures the future of the club," he added.

"Fewer and fewer people are playing cricket and the current players in our team will have to be replaced at some stage.

"You can pick up one or two players but people tend to stay with their own clubs. We hopes to expand and have youngsters coming through.

"It has been difficult. There are YMCA and Bishopston around the corner. They are established clubs and YMCA has a very good set up."

Anyone interested in joining the Windies junior section should contact Smith on 0117 0556543 or Joseph on 07787 113186.