New school cricket competition to be hosted at Lord’s from 2026
Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has partnered with Barclays to launch a national cricket competition for state school pupils, with girls’ and boys’ finals to be held annually at Lord’s starting in 2026.
Marylebone Cricket Club has introduced the Barclays Knight-Stokes Cup, a new cricket competition for under-15 state school teams, with finals to be hosted at Lord’s Cricket Ground from 2026. The initiative has aimed to expand access to cricket for state-educated pupils across the UK and has formed part of a wider effort by English cricket to improve participation outside the independent school system.
The competition has been named after England captains Heather Knight and Ben Stokes, both of whom attended state schools. It has been developed in collaboration with Barclays, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), and the MCC Foundation. The format will consist of county-level knockout rounds progressing through regional stages to a national final. Both a girls’ and a boys’ final will be staged at Lord’s annually.
The MCC Foundation has taken on the responsibility of delivering the competition and will work with county boards and local cricket organisations across the country. It has followed the MCC Foundation’s wider work to improve cricket access through its national hub network, which has supported over 30,000 young people with free coaching and competition.
The Barclays Knight-Stokes Cup has been designed to support the ECB’s State School Action Plan, and it will also look to collaborate with independent schools to share access to facilities. Financial support will be provided by Barclays and the Black Heart Foundation.
The competition has joined other recent efforts to address the disparity in cricket participation between state and independent schools. A 2023 report from the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket highlighted structural barriers to talent development, with fewer than 10% of England’s centrally contracted male cricketers having come through the state system.
Events to mark the launch have taken place at Lord’s, involving 150 children from London schools, with support from current and former players including Knight, Michael Vaughan, and Saj Mahmood.
Subscribe to the Sport Industry Daily for regular updates on the biggest stories and latest news in the sport industry.
