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School T20 Tournament To Be Launched In Name Of Stokes-Knight In England; Final At Lord's

Aashay Chopade

Ben Stokes and Heather Knight (Source:@wboldbrigade/X.com)Ben Stokes and Heather Knight (Source:@wboldbrigade/X.com)

A new nationwide cricket tournament for state schools is set to launch in England in 2026. It would be a T20 tournament, and the idea has been conceived by former England captain Michael Vaughan. 

The trophy would be named after two iconic English cricketers, Ben Stokes and Heather Knight - credited for taking cricket in the country forward over the course of the last decade.

The development has been reported by BBC and the competition is expected to start in the summer of 2026. There will be a series of knockout regional qualifiers, and the final will be played at the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground, providing a sense of bigger value to the school tournament.

School Tournament Eyes More Parity In English Cricket

The tournament will be partly funded by the Black Heart Foundation, a charitable organisation which has Michael Vaughan as a trustee. Also, the Marylebone Cricket Club will actively take part in the organisation of the tournament and work in coordination with regional cricket clubs.

The tournament's idea and organisation are in line with the 2023 report of the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC). The report with the name 'elitism and class-based discrimination' stresses the disparity of positive cricket outcomes between state and private schools.

Private School Dominate Cricket Enrolment In England

It states that players from private schools receive a considerable advantage in representation at the international level. It states that 58 per cent of men playing for England in 2021 were privately educated which is significantly higher than the 7 percent of the population enrolled in these schools.

Thus, the tournament is likely to help students from state-run schools and improve the overall cricket depth in the country. The BBC report also states that many independent schools have agreed to provide grounds and facilities for state schools to play the games, showcasing the involvement of multiple stakeholders in the ambitious initiative.