COLCHESTER and East Essex's cricketers head into the weekend sitting pretty at the top of the table – but captain Darren Eckford insists they are not paying much attention to their lofty position at the summit of Shepherd Neame Essex League division one.

The Castle Park side head to lowly Upminster tomorrow leading the way, following impressive back-to-back home wins against Shenfield and Woodford Wells.

Colchester have enjoyed an encouraging first half of the campaign – but Eckford says there is still plenty of cricket left to play.

Eckford said: “We’re not playing too much attention to where we are in the table, at the moment.

“It’s about taking it week by week and putting our best efforts into every match.

“We’re looking ahead to the next match, rather than looking back or looking too far ahead.

“Hopefully come September, we’ll be in the same position in the table.

“But it’s a pretty unpredictable league and any teams can win games of cricket.

“We’re not focusing on who we’re playing – our preparation is all about us and what we’re doing.

“We’ll play to the best of our ability

“I’m sure the lead will change more than once, between now and the end of the season.”

Colchester’s first XI squad had plenty of arrivals and departures, prior to their 2019 campaign.

But the team have gelled quickly and Eckford says it is very much a collective effort, as they strive for promotion back to the top flight.

“It’s a great team to captain but they’re leading themselves,” said Eckford, who is in his first season as Colchester’s second XI captain.

“I give them a bit of direction but they’re taking ownership and responsibility for what they need to deliver.

“It’s club cricket and we’re a bunch of lads who are there to enjoy ourselves.

“We’re doing our best not to win games on the back of one person.

“We’re very much about being a squad rather than just a team.

“It’s about promoting the improvement of everyone, not just the top performers.”

Colchester are likely to once again change their starting XI for the game at Upminster, as they strive for another victory.

Eckford added: “The nature of it is that the side will change pretty much every week.

“We pick our best 11 players for that particular week given how players have performed in training and matches and then the next best 11 after that for the second XI game.”