SWINDON'S Jon Lewis has every reason to be satisfied with Gloucestershire's start to the new county cricket campaign.

The county not only sit top of Frizzell Championship Division Two after four games, but Lewis is also the leading wicket-taker in the country.

The 27-year-old paceman has captured 20 wickets so far this season, nine of those in Gloucestershire's last outing, a six-wicket victory over Glamorgan at Sophia Gardens.

Lewis revealed a pre-season ambition to capture the attention of England's selectors, and his start to the campaign boasting two five-wicket hauls in three championship games will certainly have caught the eye.

Starting a championship game against Hampshire at Bristol today, Lewy, as he is known to his teammates, tops the wicket-taking stakes by one ahead of Rob Kirtley of Sussex.

In Division Two, Somerset's Richard Johnson is second with a haul of 17 and county colleague Mike Smith third with 15.

And Lewis, now over an early-season groin injury, puts down his good start to the help from his table-topping teammates.

He said: "I have tended to start well, and it's going really well at the moment I'm really pleased, not just for myself but the team.

"It's helped having Mike Smith fit for the first four games, young Roger Sillence has been bowling well and now we've also got Ian Butler, a quality bowler in from New Zealand to cover for Ian Harvey while he's on Australia duty.

"But it's not just the bowlers. The batsmen have been posting big scores in our first innings, and the fielders are alive. That's down to Jonty Rhodes, who seems to transmit his energy through to everyone else.

"As for any selectors, you can only do what you can do. I've just been getting the ball in the right areas."

As for the team's top-table status, the former Churchfields pupil added: "It's nicer to be at the top than the bottom, that's for sure.

"We're focussed on the four-day game this season, and getting back into the top flight. But there's a long way to go and we'll be looking to push hard in our next two games against Hampshire and Worcestershire."