THE search is on to find the fastest club bowler in Gloucestershire.

Coaches from the Gloucestershire Cricket Board (GCB) are travelling around the county armed with a state-of-the-art speed gun to uncover the quickest pacemen outside professional ranks.

Masoor Khan and Pete Lamb have already visited six clubs as part of the Top Gun competition.

Players who take part will have their speeds displayed on the GCB and Gloucestershire CCC websites, with the top three bowling off against each other during the interval of the county’s first NatWest T20 Blast match at home to Middlesex on May 15.

The fastest bowler on the day will win a T20 membership package for the rest of the season.

GCB community coach Masoor Khan said: “We hope clubs will get on board and see this as a fun way to add a bit of extra competition to their pre-season training. How fast people bowl is always a talking point among cricketers and now we will be able to definitively prove who the quickest bowlers in the county really are.”

The GCB coaches hope to get around as many clubs as possible and are planning to hold a series of events where players from nearby clubs visit one ground in their area to test their skills.

It is still early days in the competition but early frontrunners include Michael Ley (72mph) from Bohemians CC, Glos Under 17 and Bristol CC’s Tommy Probert (71mph) and Babar Malik (69mph) from Bristol Asians.

To see the full list go to www.gloucestershirecricketboard.com The GCB is also using the Top Gun competition as a way of talking to players about the inaugural Street Cricket “World Cup” which gets underway on March 22. Open to players aged 16-30 the six-a-side tournament sees teams compete against each other in a fast-paced form of the game using a taped tennis ball.

The competition is free to enter and each will team have the chance to compete for a range of prizes. Club sides are welcome to enter or teams can be made up of groups of cricket-mad friends. Each team will be allocated a World Cup country to represent with a kit to match.

Masoor said: “Street cricket is a great way to sharpen up your skills ahead of the season and this is a nice way to draw attention to the current ICC World Cup. The game is all-action and moves at such a fast pace that you are involved the whole time. It suits players of all abilities so whether you are an experienced cricketer, haven’t played for a while or are new to the game you are guaranteed to enjoy yourself.”

The “World Cup” gets underway on Sunday March 22 at 3pm at City Academy, Bristol. Matches will then take place between 5.30pm and 7.30pm on Thursdays (from March 19) and 3pm and 5pm on Saturdays (from March 21).

For more information on the World Cup or to book a visit from the GCB Top Gun team please email masoor.khan@glosccc.co.uk or ring him on 07958271415.