TROWBRIDGE captain Alex Hart is backing overseas batsman Wes Marshall to be a hit this summer after he smashed his second century of the season to see off Devizes last weekend.

Marshall has scored 279 runs in three Wiltshire Division matches so far this season, hitting an unbeaten 123 in Trowbridge’s six-wicket triumph at the County Ground on Saturday.

Marshall was named Cricket South Africa’s Under 17 player of the year in 2012 and fellow South African Hart reckons that his young batsman will only get better as the season draws on.

“I know Wes through my contacts in South Africa and we think that it’s going to be a great experience for him to see what it’s like playing cricket away from home,” said the Trowbridge skipper.

“He’s only 20 years old but the fact that he was named South Africa’s U17 player of the year is a sign of how good he is.

“He’s a young player but he showed a lot of maturity last weekend and farmed the strike really well, as well as scoring runs – we’ve got a very young side behind him and he’s done a lot to help them.

“I think he’s going to get even better as we go on. We’ve also got Mikee Selmes, who’s going through a dip in form at the moment, but once they both click together, we’ll score a lot of runs.

“If we can be in the top four at the turn of the season, I think we’ll have a great chance of going up.”

Devizes captain Joe Wookey hit an unbeaten 68 as they batted first but Rod Edgington (3-13) helped skittle the visitors for 159 after 45 overs.

Trowbridge lost four wickets, with John Carroll hitting a lowly ten, but Marshall’s monster haul saw the hosts ease to 160-4 in the 32nd over.

Winsley were all out for just 85 as they suffered a 92-run loss at Marlborough.

The hosts posted 177-9 before Ben Head, who had earlier hit 72, claimed five Winsley wickets for 16 runs.

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