A great day but Mansfield's Beech Academy lose national table cricket crown at Lord’s

Reigning champions Beech Academy were again one of 10 schools that had fought their way through regional competitions to win a place at Finals Days on Friday, held inside the Nursery Pavilion at the 'Home of Cricket'.

Schools competing were from across the country, with Lord’s Taverners President and cricket legend David Gower and current England star Reece Topley among those in attendance.

It was not a first visit to Lord’s for the school who were crowned champions a year ago, and though they did not prevail on this occasion it was still a day that will live long in the memory.

“Everybody was so excited throughout the day once the nerves settled a little bit,” said PE teacher Georgia Baker.

“For us, there was more worry this year and last year as we were defending champions.

"I think there were more nerves, but we were very excited to be back at Lord’s - we just love it!

“The favourite thing for our team is the community feel of it.

"It is very inclusive and it allows our students to go out and talk about it to people who haven’t played it, or don’t know what it is.

"It just encourages that next level of communication with them. They just love telling people about it.

“It’s lovely to see them mixing with other students and other people who enjoy it as much as we do.”

Beech Academy student Byron Stanford, 13, was among those in action for his school and revelled in the opportunity to compete at the iconic venue.

He added: “I really just enjoy playing the game. I think it’s very fun, I think it’s very inclusive. It just feels very nice.

“It’s very exciting to be here at Lord’s!”

The Lord’s Taverners impacts the lives of young people facing the challenges of inequality.

The charity works across the UK and beyond to provide inclusive and impactful cricket programmes, empowering young people with disabilities and from disadvantaged communities – visit www.lordstaverners.org