HORWICH cricketer Nalisha Patel is hoping two T20 World Cup winners can help improve her game in the Women’s Super League competition.

The off-spinner has been selected in Lancashire Thunder’s 15-player squad for the new 20-over event which involves some of the world’s best cricketers.

Lancashire’s overseas players are Australian all-rounder Sarah Coyte and West Indians Deandra Dottin and Hayley Matthews – an all-rounder and a batter, respectively.

The latter two were part of the West Indies’ title-winning squad at the World T20 in India last month.

“The West Indies players will have a lot to add to our squad through their own experiences,” said 18-year-old Patel, who last season played first-team cricket at Horwich.

“Hopefully, I can take some of it on board.

“Hayley Matthews is 18, and I’ve just recently turned 18 as well.

“Watching the final, it was surreal seeing somebody of my age playing in a game that big. It was crazy!”

Also included in Lancashire’s squad are England internationals Kate Cross, captain Sarah Taylor – a superstar of the women’s game – and off-spinner Danni Wyatt, who Patel is particularly looking forward to working with.

“Looking at the squad that we’ve got, we’re strong across all areas, bowling, batting and fielding,” she said.

“With the England players and the overseas added, it’s a good unit. We have a good shot at winning.”

Patel is a final-year A Level student at Runshaw College with hopes of studying psychology at Leeds University in September.

And, with regards to the Women’s Super League which starts in July, she admitted the call-up took her by surprise.

“I wasn’t really expecting to be picked, so I when I found out, it was great,” she said.

“They obviously went through a selection process, and there’s a lot of talented girls around the county who could have been picked so to make the final squad is quite an achievement for me.”

Patel, who has designs on an international career down the line, is also in the Lancashire Thunder squad for the regular county competitions, the Royal London one-day Championship and the NatWest Women’s T20.

“We are looking to get promoted into Division One of the Championship,” she said. “We got relegated last season, and that would be our main focus.

“For me, success would just be being up there in the wickets and contributing to the team’s performance.”

Patel hopes the WSL will inspire more Bolton girls to take up the game.

On her club hopes she believes she will be playing predominantly second-team cricket at Horwich this season.

“We’ve got a pretty strong first team at Horwich, so I expect mostly to be playing second-team cricket this year,” she said.

“We were short of a spinner last year, so I got the call-up to the first team. I played a few games and did all right.

“It’s a lot different to playing women’s cricket, a much quicker game. I certainly had to be a lot more proactive in the field.

“But it’s a good experience for me to have had in developing my game.”