15th April 2025
After nearly two years since the publication of the ICEC report, the release of the ECB’s state school action plan in the Autumn and the imposition of VAT on school fees in the New Year, school cricket faces an uncertain future.
A recent survey by the Schools Cricket Committee indicated that these are challenging times for cricket in schools as the number of boys playing the game has declined by over a third since 2011. However, the number of girls playing the game in schools has increased exponentially as cricket has become the summer sport for girls in many schools.
The format of the game has also changed in many schools with less than 5% of all games being declaration cricket, mainly against adult sides like the MCC and XL Club. The T20 format of the game now dominates the school game with around 80% of all games played, including 1st XIs resulting in the National Boys Under 18 T20 competition quickly becoming the premier national school cricket competition.
This competition is about to start its 22nd season having first been launched in the year after the format was introduced to the first-class game in England and Wales. Originally launched by Fred Rumsey Travel, the tournament was taken over by the HMC Schools Cricket Committee in 2009 and has continued to develop and flourish ever since. In the early days, the finals were held on the Nursery ground at Lord’s, before moving in 2011 to the beautiful surroundings of the Arundel Castle ground remaining there until 2023.
In 2024, the MCC kindly offered the main ground at Lord’s to stage a National Schools Finals day at Lord’s as a part of its “Road to Lord’s” strategy of widening the number of cricketers playing on the hallowed turf. The Boys T20 joined the Cricket Paper National Girl’s 100-ball in the inaugural finals and provided the participants, their families, teachers and friends a day they will cherish for the rest of their lives.
This year’s competition features some 220 schools in 2025; the largest ever entry. Some 26% of entries this year have come from state schools and colleges with several of these recording some notable scalps over private schools in recent years. Myerscough College Manchester has been the most successful state institution in recent years, having been runners-up in 2022 and reaching the quarter finals in 2024.
With large numbers of schools from London and the South East, the Midlands and the East, some of the stronger boarding schools are seeded and do not enter the competition until the regional 3rd round. This ensures that all schools have competitive games in the early rounds, while some regions also have local plate competitions that ensure more cricket for many.
In London and the South East, Merchant Taylors’ Northwood, Tonbridge and Whitgift are always strong, though Epsom College after their win in the Under 17 competition last September are also highly fancied. In the East Midlands and East Anglia region, Bedford, Gresham’s and Repton all have a good chance of a cup run, while in the West Midlands, Malvern and Shrewsbury have dominated in recent years.
In the North West, Sedbergh dominated for many years, but Manchester Grammar and Myerscough have challenged the Cumbrian school since the pandemic. St. Peter’s, York are on paper the strongest school in Yorkshire and the North East region, though Scarborough College and Durham School will be providing a stiff challenge this year.
In the South West, Millfield will always be many observer’s favourites, but King’s Taunton, who were national champions in 2023, Clifton and Taunton should also be able to mount a challenge to last year’s runner-up.. The South Central region is always competitive and too close to call with Winchester, St. Edward’s, Oxford, Canford, Bradfield, Marlborough and Wellington all having the potential to reach the national quarter final stage at least.
The Cricket Paper Girls Under 18 100-ball also gets underway in the next few weeks, with 71 schools and colleges entered, though only 6 are not independent schools, reflecting the game being in the early stages of development at the Under 18 level in many state schools and colleges. In geographical terms, many of the participants are from the southern half of the country as the uptake of cricket in northern schools remains slow compared with the fast pace at which the girl’s game is developing in the south.
Last year, Ipswich School narrowly beat Bradfield College with three balls to spare in the inaugural final at Lord’s to add to their 2024 National T20 and Under 17 T20 title in 2023. The expectation is that they will again be strong with the ex-Proteas test bowler Nicky Boje at the helm and Zimbabwe’s Doug Hondo coaching.
Last year’s beaten finalists are also highly fancied, while last year’s beaten semi-finalists Millfield (who were beaten finalists in 2023) and Shrewsbury along with Bede’s, Berkhamsted, and Rugby all have good prospects, while Repton, who were 2023 winners, can never be discounted.
The Cricket Paper Boys Under 17 Cup is a 35-over competition with a large entry of 109 schools (19 from the state sector). The competition had its origins in the late 2000’s with a competition organised by School Sport magazine. Having then been abandoned by the magazine’s publishers in 2017, the competition was taken over by Andy Barnard (father of Warwickshire’s Ed), then head of Cricket at Shrewsbury School.
The competition was re-launched for 2018 and now features a venue for the final that is fit for a national competition at Loughborough University. The format of the game at 35 overs a side means an innings can be completed in around two hours, allowing for a more patient batting technique rather than the slog-fest that T20 has become. Bowling and fielding restrictions based on the 50-over game are applied with coloured clothing and white balls used.
With no national competitions played at the Under 16 level due to GCSE examinations, predicting the likely winners of the competition has become difficult. A school that wins national honours at Under 15 may not necessarily challenge at Under 17 level, as youngsters develop at different rates as cricketers. A bowler who bowled at a gentle medium pace as a 15-year-old has experienced a growth spurt and suddenly develops two extra yards of pace by the time he reaches 17.
In addition, with the introduction of VAT on school fees, some parents are now looking to invest in only an independent school sixth-form education for their offspring, strengthening the cricket in the many schools that welcome sixth-form entrants.
Many schools use the Under 17 Cup as a development competition, playing a mixture of age groups as they look to play talented players as young as Under 13. This has resulted in no school having dominated the competition since its inception. Unlike the T20 competition, where a small number of schools have dominated the latter stages of the competition, such as Millfield having won six titles since 2004, the Under 17 competition continually throws up new winners.
Last year’s finalists, Epsom College and Solihull School, were both first-time finalists as were Winchester College and The Canterbury Academy in the previous two years. Three-time winners Shrewsbury School are likely to be challenging for honours once again, as are Midlands rivals Repton and last year’s runners-up Solihull School. St. Peter’s, York, the current Under 18 champions are also likely to be contenders along with previous winners Bede’s Senior School from Sussex.
The National Boys Under 18 T20 gets underway at the end of April and will be featured in these columns and regular updates in the Cricket Paper will also feature the competition along with the Cricket Paper Girls Under 18100-ball and Cricket Paper Boys Under 17 competitions.