Students at Sandfield Park School had a day to remember as they travelled to the home of cricket to take part in the Lord’s Taverners National Table Cricket Finals.

The Liverpool-based school’s side were one of 12 sides competing in the Nursery Pavilion at Lord’s Cricket Ground for the right to call themselves national champions, and narrowly finished runners-up to Beckfoot School.  

Yet despite the hard-fought loss, Headteacher Mark Hilton voiced his pride at his students for their determined efforts.  

He said: “We have had a wonderful day here today; our pupils came last year, and we love doing all the local and regional championships and then coming to the nationals. It’s a fantastic day that is really well organised, and it is great to be with lots of other people doing table cricket.

“It is a fantastic sport that makes sport inclusive, which is a big thing for us. Our young people have special educational needs and disabilities and for them to be included in sport is a really big thing. To come to today and be part of a national competition at the home of cricket, Lord’s, is just amazing. It has been a great day out. 

“We are very proud of them. We just said to them ‘have a great day, enjoy the day’. They’re naturally competitive anyway so they always want to do their best which is great. To come second is amazing.  

“Sport is a fantastic thing for its social side, developing self-esteem, confidence, that’s what this is about. Certainly, from our school, we can see competitions like this have had a massive impact on our young people.  

“We have been doing table cricket for a few years now because it’s so good. I have fantastic staff who make sure that our young people get an opportunity to do this in our curriculum. It culminates in coming to things like this. I said to them this is one of my favourite places in the world and they’ve loved it.”

Table cricket is a fully inclusive, adapted version of the game aimed at young people living with a wide range of learning and physical disabilities played on a table tennis table.

Many young people with a disability have limited opportunities to participate in sport, but table cricket provides an incredible opportunity for them to make new friends and develop life skills such as confidence and independence, while also helping them understand the importance of leadership and teamwork in competitive environments.

Much of the Lord’s Taverners work in cricket for young people with disabilities is made possible thanks to funds raised by players of People’s Postcode Lottery and awarded by the Postcode Active Trust, in addition to support from the ECB and Sport England.

Watching on at Lord’s were an array of stars, including TV personality and comedian Matt Lucas as well as England cricketers Jack Leach, Anya Shrubsole, Jonny Gale and Alfie Pyle.

He said: “It’s a pleasure to come down and see everyone enjoying the game. It’s a great game, I had a little go and it’s quite difficult. I enjoyed seeing how competitive everyone is. It’s the national finals, it’s great for kids to be able to come here to the home of cricket to play.  

“It’s everyone’s dream as a kid to play at Lord’s and for them to be able to do that is very special. We want the game to be accessible to everyone. The great work that Lord’s Taverners and the ECB have done to fund this and make it accessible is really special. Everyone deserves that chance, and it is great to see them making the most of it.”

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