Sir Thomas Rich’s School (Gloucester) U15 cricket team are one match away from a National Cup Final at Lord’s!
The inaugural Barclays Knight-Stokes Cup is one of the most significant developments in English Schools cricket. It has been created to expand opportunities for young cricketers in state education. The competition attracted more than 1,100 boys’ and girls’ teams from over 800 secondary schools across the UK and Ireland in its debut season. There were over 700 boys’ teams, and Sir Thomas Rich’s School have made it into the last 4.
The competition is named after former England captains Heather Knight and Ben Stokes, both of whom attended state schools, the tournament aims to address long-standing concerns about access to cricket outside the independent school sector. The competition is organised by the MCC Foundation.
Sir Thomas Rich’s School U15’s have won all 9 of their games in the competition so far. It started locally, and they won the Gloucestershire final down at Frocester CC. They then played the round of 64 and round of 32 at Cheltenham College before playing the last 16 and quarter-finals at Rugby School, Warwickshire.
They will play the national semi-final on Monday 13 July at the historic Headingley Stadium in Leeds, which has hosted Test matches since 1899. A final at Lord’s on September 10 awaits the winner.
Jamie Payne, Head of PE and Games at Sir Thomas Rich’s said: As a School, we feel that to have the opportunity to play at Lord’s Cricket Ground would be incredibly special. For anyone involved in cricket, Lord’s is the most iconic venue, so the chance for boys from our School to walk through the Long Room and represent Tommy’s on that stage would create memories they’ll carry for the rest of their lives. It would also be a fitting reward for the commitment these boys have shown throughout the year. They’ve put in countless hours of training, supported one another, and represented the school with real pride and humility.
