OVER 300 schoolchildren were given a chance to watch their heroes play for free as part of the first Gloucestershire Cricket Schools Day of 2015.

Pupils from eight local primary schools attended the third day of the LV County Championship match against Kent where they also got the chance to take part in a range of cricketing activities.

The children tested their skills in a series of coaching sessions and got the chance to ask Gloucestershire fast bowler James Fuller questions in a Q&A session.

All 300 also took part in a skills session on the outfield during the lunch interval and met the club’s new mascot, Alfred the Gorilla.

Gloucestershire Cricket Board (GCB) Projects and Programmes Officer Lisa Pagett, who coordinated the day, said: “The schools days are aimed at inspiring children to play and watch cricket more often.

“The majority of children here have received coaching in schools through the GCB and we hope that by giving them the chance to see the Gloucestershire first team in action, it will bring cricket to life for them and get them excited about the game.”

The event, which was run by the GCB in partnership with Gloucestershire Cricket, is the first of four Scools Days being run this year; there will be another at the Bristol County Ground and two at the Brewin Dolphin Cheltenham Festival.

The schools who attended on May 20 included St Michaels on the Mount, Meadowbrook Primary, Brentry Primary, St Nicholas of Tolentine, Westbury on Trym, St Mary’s (Bradley Stoke), Hannah More Primary, St Michael on the Mount, Tutshill Primary and Trinity Primary.

Some of these are among the 200 schools that are visited by GCB coaches each year, resulting in around 10,000 pupils receiving coaching.

Gloucestershire Cricket Chief Executive, Will Brown, said: “It was fantastic to see so many schoolchildren at the match with Kent.

“We hope that these days will encourage them to develop a lifelong love of the game and of Gloucestershire.”

Seamer James Fuller, who grew up in New Zealand, added: “I went to watch some of the Black Caps games against Australia when I was younger and that really inspired me to think that playing cricket was something I wanted to make a career out of.

“A lot of the kids here said that they wanted to be professional cricketers and It would be great if they came down to support us and we can be that inspiration for them.”

The schools days were supported by Gloucestershire’s Cricketeers volunteers who help out at T20 Blast matches and major events.

The other Gloucestershire Cricket Schools Days take place on June 23 at the Bristol County Ground and on July 9 and 15 at the Brewin Dolphin Cheltenham Festival.