Chance to Shine Street National Finals 2026
Berkshire Cricket — competition preview
University of Nottingham, David Ross Sports Village · 11–13 August 2026
Berkshire Cricket takes six teams to the Chance to Shine Street National Finals this month, across three consecutive days at the University of Nottingham. Two of them go as defending national champions.
Langley Under 12s and Slough Young Adults both won their competitions last year and return to defend their titles. The Girls Under 13s reached the final and finished runners up. It is our strongest representation to date, spanning four age groups and both of our urban centres, and it includes a first for the Reading programme.
The three days
| Date | Team | Going in as |
| Tue 11 Aug | Girls Under 13 | Runners-up in 2025 — final again |
| Girls Under 15 | ||
| Wed 12 Aug | Slough Young Adults | Defending national champions |
| Reading Young Adults | First Reading side at this level | |
| Thu 13 Aug | Langley Under 12s | Defending national champions |
| Reading Under 15s |
Two teams on each of the three days, across four age groups from Under 12 through to Young Adults.
Two titles to defend
Langley Under 12s and Slough Young Adults are both national champions, and both go back to Nottingham to defend. Winning one national title in a year is a good year for any count. Winning two, at opposite ends of the age range, says something about the depth of what is being built in Slough rather than a single strong group of players coming through at once.
The Girls Under 13s add to that. Reaching the final last year and finishing runners up, and they return with a score to settle.
Three of our six teams therefore arrive with a genuine expectation of competing for silverware, which is not a position we have been in before.
A first for Reading
This is the first time Berkshire has entered a Reading Young Adults team at the National Finals. It is a genuine milestone for the programme in Reading, where consistent weekly attendance has built a squad capable of competing at national level.
With Reading also fielding an Under 15 side, the county is now represented across both of our urban centres rather than Slough alone and having two Young Adults teams on the same day, one from each town, is a first as well.
Six teams across four age groups is the widest spread we have taken. Two girls teams at Under 13 and Under 15 reflect the growth of the girls programme under Michelle Jeyarajah. The two Young Adults sides carry players who have come all the way through Street programme and are now at the top of the pathway.
What sits behind it
Reaching national finals is the visible end of a year-round programme:
- Free weekly Street Cricket sessions in Slough at Singh Sabha Gurdwara, Slough & Eton School and Langley Academy, open to anyone and requiring no kit, no whites and no membership.
- A Slough team has reached the Street National Finals every year we have entered.
- In May we ran a tape ball challenge at Lascelles Park which drew ten teams, evidence of how much appetite there is for the format locally.
Almost every player travelling to Nottingham came into cricket through a free session in their own neighbourhood. None of them needed to own a bat to get there.
Six teams from four age groups, drawn from Slough and Reading, with two defending national titles, is the clearest measure yet that the provision is reaching the right young people and keeping hold of them long enough for them to get good.
Looking ahead
The pipeline into national finals is not an accident. It is the product of free weekly provision in the right places, and a leadership pathway that keeps young people in the game once they age out of playing. Two national titles and a runners up medal are what that looks like when it works well.