Why producing Durham players trumps possible Lord's glory at one state school

Park View School, in Chester-le-Street, hope to progress in the inaugural Knight-Stokes Cup - but are focused on getting more of their pupils into the county game

With a dream Lord's final on offer this summer, many state schools would be tempted to prioritise progress in the new Knight-Stokes Cup over player development.

But at Chester-le-Street's Park View School, which has produced four Durham professionals in just five years, the message is clear.

"Our aims are to push more people into the pro ranks more than our own glory," says Ash Thorpe, head coach of cricket at the school's Park View Academy of Sport.

"It's exciting to see some exposure for the state sector because there’s been a lot of talk around the dominance of private schools. Hopefully, this will cause a bit of a shift.

"Luckily, in the North-East, we've got a few more state school cricketers going into the professional system.

"But anything we can do to move the dial has to be a good thing."

Park View only launched its cricket programme in 2020 but has already produced the likes of county players like Mitchell Killeen, Ben McKinney, Luke Robinson and Laura Trotter.

Seamer Jack Brassell played for Namibia in the T20 World Cup, having emerged from the Park View programme after moving to the area – his father hails from the historic international sportsman factory of Ashington – with the aim of forging a county career.

Now, seamers Zac Mawdsley, originally from Cumbria, and Zac Smith are the next Park View pupils tipped to follow in their footsteps, along with allrounder Owen Harwood.

Competition, though, remains a key part of the programme, with boys' U17 and U18 teams, and a strong girls' first XI, set to enter more tournaments this summer.

Off the field, pupils train at the Riverside, where Thorpe spent two seasons on Durham’s playing staff in 2002 and 2003, and now also have the chance to attain coaching qualifications.

"We want to give them something they can take away and give back to their clubs," he adds.

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