Chelmsford County High School are the first girls' champions of the Barclays Knight-Stokes Cup, beating Penistone Grammar in the final at Lord's.

Chelmsford County High School for Girls are national cricket champions. The school’s under-15 team won the girls’ final of the first Barclays Knight-Stokes Cup at Lord’s on Thursday 10 September.

It is a new national competition, open only to state schools. The girls’ and boys’ finals were the first ever played on the Main Ground at Lord’s, and the winners’ names go on a new honours board inside the Pavilion.

The final

The girls’ final started at 3pm. Chelmsford County High School, representing Essex, played Penistone Grammar School from Yorkshire (MCC, 10 September 2026).

MCC confirmed the result on its competition page: “Congratulations to Altrincham Grammar School and Chelmsford County High School who are the first champions of the Barclays Knight-Stokes Cup at Lord’s” (MCC). Altrincham, from Cheshire, won the boys’ final against John Hampden Grammar School.

The school posted the next morning. “In a superb final, the team showcased outstanding skill, determination and teamwork to secure a memorable victory and become national champions,” it said. It thanked its staff, “particularly Mr May, for all that was done to coach and inspire these superb sportswomen” (Chelmsford County High School for Girls).

Neither MCC nor the school has published the scorecard or the winning margin. We will add it if either does.

How big the competition was

This was not a small field. MCC’s figures for the first year:

  • an estimated 15,744 students took part
  • they played in more than 1,100 boys’ and girls’ teams
  • those teams came from 820 state secondary schools
  • that is about one fifth of all state secondary schools in the UK

Schools started in county competitions, then went through regional and national knockout rounds. The semi-finals were played at Headingley and Wormsley. Four schools reached Lord’s (MCC, 10 September 2026).

Funnel graphic: 15,744 students, more than 1,100 teams and 820 state secondary schools took part, four reached Lord's and two became champions
Chelmsford came through a field of more than 1,100 teams. Graphic by The Chelmsford Times

The finalists got the full Lord’s playing experience, according to MCC. That meant use of the Players’ Dressing Rooms and catering in the Players’ Dining Room.

Why the cup matters

The trophy is named after Heather Knight and Ben Stokes, whom MCC calls “two of England’s greatest state-educated cricketers”. MCC and the MCC Foundation run it, with Barclays as principal sponsor and early funding from the Black Heart Foundation.

MCC says there are “many barriers to accessing hardball cricket for state schools”, the full game played with a hard ball, and that the competition is meant to reduce them. Its survey of this year’s schools backs that up. More than 80% gave the need for state schools to play competitive hardball cricket as their reason for entering.

Chelmsford County High School is a state grammar school for girls. As one of the first two champions, its name goes on the new honours board in the Writing Room of the Lord’s Pavilion, alongside Altrincham’s.

What it means for you

If your child is at a state secondary school in Chelmsford, their school can enter next year’s competition. Here is what MCC says:

  • Who can play: any non-fee-paying state secondary or grammar school in the UK or Ireland, with separate boys’ and girls’ competitions
  • Age group: under-15, which is Year 10 and below in England
  • Cost: nothing to enter the national competition, though a county round can charge a fee, and MCC has a small fund for schools that cannot pay it
  • Kit and pitches: the MCC Foundation says it will help schools without their own ground or equipment
  • Who enters: a teacher or school administrator, not a parent

Check the deadline with MCC. Its 10 September announcement says entries close on 31 October 2026. Its competition page says Monday 30 November 2026. Aim for the earlier date.

The entry form is on the Barclays Knight-Stokes Cup page.

Sources