Barclays Knight-Stokes Cup – State School Cricket Competition launches for Summer 2026
MCC and MCC Foundation are delighted to confirm the launch of the Barclays Knight-Stokes Cup, a new hardball cricket competition for state secondary schools across the UK at Under 15’s. (up to School Year 10 age group – with flexibility for the girls’ competition to allow two U16 players per match – this will be confirmed in the competition rules).
Named after two state educated cricketing greats (Heather Knight and Ben Stokes) and backed by former England Captain, Michael Vaughan and The Black Heart Foundation, this ground-breaking initiative is designed to provide more opportunities for state-educated young cricketers to showcase their talent. There will be a boys’ and girls’ competition launching in 2026 and both competitions will be run at county level, with progression to national rounds. Both the boys’ and girls’ finals are to be played at Lords in September 2026.
The Knight-Stokes Cup aims to inspire young cricketers across the UK and the Republic of Ireland and will seek to grow the game by running a national hardball competition for state schools, for the first time ever.
Below, is the Schools / Parents Expression of Interest Form for the first year of the Competition, in Summer 2026.
Barclays Knight-Stokes Cup - Schools Expression of Interest Form for Summer 2026
All state schools that wish to be a part of the Barclays Knight-Stokes Cup U15 boys’ and girls’ competitions will be required to complete the EOI form to ensure every state school who is keen to take part registers their interest.
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