GIRLS' cricket in Wiltshire received a boost last week as international player Suzie Bates made an appearance at the Chippenham and Marshfield clubs.

Bates, who has made nearly 200 ODI and T20 appearances for New Zealand, hosted a skills clinic and question and answer session at the Bristol Road club to help inspire young female players.

The 30 year old will play for the Southern Vipers in the Women's Cricket Super League this summer and said: "“I have been round the county doing these sort of things but it is nice to see so many girls here today and some of which are really talented too.

"I have mostly been on the bowling station (at Chippenham), and bowling I think puts a lot of girls off from the sport as it’s quite a difficult thing to learn but it seems most of them have already started to master it.

“Days like this encourage the girls to try something new and if they progress they can end up playing for county and who knows where that might take them.”

She added: “The Vipers season starts in July but I’m also playing for Hampshire and then we’ve got the New Zealand tour to England as well, so I have got a busy summer ahead.''

Wiltshire Cricket's growth development officer Sam Dent added: “We wanted to do two things with the day, the first was to inspire and hopefully get them interested in cricket and the second was to get them into some of the county’s clubs.

“It gives them the chance to learn something new from someone other than myself and my colleagues, which is a big plus for everyone involved.''