King’s named as one of UK’s top cricketing schools

The King’s School Chester is delighted to have been named as one of the country’s top cricketing schools for the second year in a row. 

The Schools Guide, published by The Cricketer, the world’s oldest and best-selling cricket magazine, is the result of an exhaustive annual search for the UK’s best cricketing schools. King’s is proud to be recognised in the prestigious guide’s tenth anniversary edition. 

The roll call of schools emerged from a large number of entrants who were judged against an extensive set of criteria, which included a compelling commitment to cricket in the curriculum, facilities, fixture programmes and coaching.

This year’s list was announced by Huw Turbervill, Editor of The Cricketer. He said: “Here at The Cricketer, we’ve covered the schools’ game since our inception in 1921, as part of our commitment to follow cricket at all levels.

“We’re proud of this coverage, and the tenth anniversary of this guide recognises the fantastic cricket programmes that exist in schools up and down the country.

“One of the most phenomenal things about the last decade is seeing cricket usurp rounders as the sport for girls.”

Cricket at King’s is led by Director of Cricket, Mark Baker, who is thrilled with the news. 

He said: “To be included in the Schools Guide for a second year in a row is testament to our continued commitment to growing our cricket programme and increasing engagement.

“We run a total of 13 representative sides and pride ourselves on offering opportunities for all players. In addition, cricket continues to be the main summer sport for girls at King’s and we are delighted that so many girls choose to play outside of their games sessions.

“We also lucky enough to have a number of very talented young players in school who play at county level and above, which naturally improves the quality of cricket across the board.”

Since 2021, the school has undertaken a programme of improvement for their cricket facilities which has included the installation of a 6-lane ECB-approved outdoor nets facility, a mobile batting cage for open wicket practice, a new electronic scoreboard which was bought with generous funding from the KSPA, and ECB-approved flooring in the sports hall that gives us many more opportunities for winter and pre-season training.

King’s is one of only four North West independent schools named on the list, reflecting our status and influence in the area.

King’s School Head, George Hartley, thanked Mr Baker for his work over the last three years: “We introduced the Director of Cricket post in 2022 and had ambitious plans for the game in school.

“Our inclusion in the Schools Guide for the second year in a row is thanks to the hard work of Mr Baker and his team. As a huge cricket fan and keen player myself, I am incredibly proud of all the staff and students who make King’s such a cricketing success.”

Not content to rest on their laurels, the school has big plans for the future.

Priorities include continuing to develop girls’ hardball cricket and their work with local schools and clubs to increase cricketing opportunities for the whole community. Mr Baker is also looking forward to establishing a touring programme for younger students, and leading a Senior Cricket Tour to Sri Lanka in July 2025, which he hopes will be the first of many biennial major overseas cricket tours for the school.

The Cricketer Schools Guide is included as a supplement in the December issue of The Cricketer and is available in newsagents and from The Cricketer website now.