Navigation
Accessibility Buy tickets Search
Buy tickets

Over 1,000 teams enter inaugural Barclays Knight-Stokes Cup in 2026

Posted: 3 November 2025

MCC can confirm that 1,084 boys’ and girls’ teams from 750 state secondary schools across the UK have entered the Barclays Knight-Stokes Cup, starting in April 2026. The boys’ and girls’ finals will be held on the Main Ground at Lord’s in September.

The competition is the brainchild of former England captain Michael Vaughan and MCC Chair Mark Nicholas, who are both passionate about increasing cricket opportunities in state schools. It is named after two of England’s greatest state-educated cricketers, Ben Stokes and Heather Knight, who attended Cockermouth School in Cumbria and Plymstock School in Plymouth respectively.

In total, 700 boys’ teams and 384 girls’ team have entered. The 750 secondary state schools involved constitutes approximately one in five of all secondary state schools in the UK.

The MCC Foundation, the charitable arm of MCC, has responsibility for organising and delivering the competition. They have been liaising with local counties and cricket organisations across the UK in the regional stages. The eary rounds of the competition will be organised by the local counties. Winning teams will progress to county finals in June before national knockout matches take place across July before the Finals Day at Lord's in September.

MCC is very grateful to The Head’ Conference (HMC) for their support, with dozens of independent schools across the country – as well as numerous cricket clubs – having already come forward to offer their facilities to host matches for local state schools during this competition. It is through this co-operation that the Club hopes to improve grassroots cricket across the country and revitalise the game in state schools.

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. Its involvement in this new competition is another illustration of the strength of the relationship between Barclays, Lord’s and MCC.

Vaughan said: “I am delighted that so many schools have got on board with this competition. We asked students to pester their teachers, and it looks like they did!
The Barclays Knight-Stokes Cup will enable state schools to encourage their students to pick up a bat and ball, step onto the cricket field and compete together for the chance to play at Lord’s. The huge number of schools involved is a great testament already to the organisation and support of MCC, the MCC Foundation, Barclays and the Black Heart Foundation.”

MCC Director of Cricket, Rob Lynch, said: “When Mark and Michael first asked what MCC and the MCC Foundation could do, we hoped to begin with two or three hundred teams – to reach over 1,000 already is beyond our wildest imagination at this stage. Clearly, there is an appetite for a competition like this; state schools want to play cricket and compete for the chance to play at Lord’s. I cannot wait for the competition to begin and I look forward to welcoming four well-deserving finalists to the Home of Cricket next summer.”

Tom Corbett, Barclays Head of Sponsorship, said: "We are thrilled by the incredible response from state schools across the UK, with over 1,000 teams entering the Barclays Knight-Stokes Cup and so many young people set to experience cricket for the first time. Support initiatives like this is central to our £5 million annual investment in making grassroots sport accessible and inclusive for all, and we are incredibly excited for the started of the competition next year."