- Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is inviting applications for state schools to enter the Barclays Knight-Stokes Cup, inspired by two of England’s greatest state school players
- Starting in 2026, there will be an annual girls’ and boys’ finals to be hosted on the Main Ground at Lord’s
- New competition part of MCC, Barclays’ and English cricket’s mission to drive state school cricket participation
- Schools urged to sign-up for inaugural competition in 2026 at lords.org/knightstokescup
Former England captains Heather Knight and Michael Vaughan were at Lord’s today to launch a new, national state school cricket competition aimed at driving state school participation and giving thousands of young people the opportunity to play at the ‘Home of Cricket’.
Michael Vaughn and Heather Knight with local children (Photo: MCC/Jed Leicester)
The Barclays Knight-Stokes Cup, named after two of England’s greatest state-educated cricketers aims to inspire state schools to develop under-15 girls’ and boys’ teams and to drive state school participation in cricket. The new T20 format competition will see both a girls’ and boys’ final hosted on the Main Ground at Lord’s from 2026. All state schools are invited to enter the competition online now at lords.org/knightstokescup.
The competition is the brainchild of Vaughan, who played cricket at Silverdale Comprehensive School in Sheffield, and MCC Chair Mark Nicholas, who co-founded Chance to Shine, the charity supported by the ECB which delivers cricket opportunities in state primary and secondary schools. Knight, who attended Plymstock School in Plymouth, and England Men’s Test captain Ben Stokes, formerly of Cockermouth School in Cumbria, pledged their support and are keen advocates for improving opportunities for state-educated cricketers.
Knight, Vaughan and Nicholas were joined by over 150 local children from 10 schools across London at Lord’s to launch the new initiative and encourage state schools to register for next year’s inaugural competition. A reception event featuring a panel discussion on state school cricket with Vaughan, Nicholas, former England international Saj Mahmood and Lottie Birdsall-Strong, Head of Youth Strategy at the ECB took place in the Long Room as part of the day. Stokes was in Birmingham preparing for the Second Test match against India but provided a video for attendees.
The Barclays Knight-Stokes Cup will support the ECB with the delivery of their State School Action Plan and team up with the independent school sector to open-up their facilities and venues where competing schools are unable to host matches. It will receive financial backing from the Black Heart Foundation, of which Vaughan is a Trustee, and Barclays, Principal Partner of MCC. Barclays has a long history of supporting grassroots sport, including football, tennis and now cricket. In fact, on the same day as the announcement of their involvement in this competition, Barclays are bringing the spirit of Centre Court to a local community near Wimbledon, delivering a Barclays Free Park Tennis session for 60 school children, joined by tennis icon Frances Tiafoe, football legend Ian Wright OBE and broadcaster Clare Balding CBE. Barclays Free Park Tennis, in partnership with the LTA, is one of Barclays’ many initiatives and programmes providing and people of all backgrounds with access to sport and the bank’s ongoing commitment to the community.
The MCC Foundation, the charitable arm of Marylebone Cricket Club, takes on the responsibility of organising and delivering the competition. They will be liaising with local counties and cricket organisations across the UK in the regional stages. The competition will follow a knock-out format first at county level before moving to a regional phase and eventually a national stage, culminating in a finals day at Lord’s.
Former England Captain Heather Knight, said: “As someone who played cricket from a young age at my local state school and then here at Lord’s including in a World Cup Final, I’m proud to have my name associated with this new competition which will inspire thousands of state school children across the country and continue the vital work that cricket is doing to create more opportunities for children from state schools to play and access the talent pathway.”
Ben Stokes, added: “Coming from a state school myself, when I was informed that they wanted to name this competition after me, it was a pretty easy ‘yes’. Playing at Lord’s is the pinnacle of any cricketer’s career and something I dreamed of when I played cricket at my school so to open up the opportunity for boys and girls to play here is fantastic. I can’t wait to see the competition get underway next year and start to see some of the incredible talent that’s out there in our state schools come through the system.”
Mark Nicholas, Chair, MCC said: “The Barclays Knight-Stokes Cup will build on the great work that MCC and MCC Foundation (MCCF) have done over a number of years to support state school cricket, particularly through the MCC Foundation Hubs programme which to date has given 30,000 young people free access to cricket and opportunities to progress through the talent pathway.”
Michael Vaughan, said: “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for state school kids to come and play at the greatest cricket ground in the world – that’s what this tournament is all about. When I was starting out playing cricket at my school, we didn’t have the opportunity to play at Lord’s so for this and future generations of young players from these backgrounds, the Barclays Knight-Stokes Cup provides that big inspiration they need to think that cricket is something for them.”
Tom Corbett, Barclays Head of Sponsorship, said: “The Barclays Knight-Stokes Cup will inspire thousands of children to believe in themselves and that anything is possible. We are so proud to support grassroots at every level, investing £5m annually in programmes that aim to help boost confidence, wellbeing, and life skills. We deeply believe that there is no sport without grassroots sport and want to make sure everyone has the chance to get involved, no matter where they’re from.”
With thanks to the MCC
