Schoolchildren across the country will unite for a day of cricket on 23 June. Nearly 4,000 schools have registered for 'Brit Insurance National Cricket Day', Chance to Shine's flagship event, and are planning cricket-themed lessons in class, coaching in the playground and competitions at local cricket clubs.

Brit Insurance National Cricket Day will also see beach tournaments held in Brighton and Cornwall and tape-ball cricket competitions in London housing estates; while schools as far afield as Australia and Japan are joining in the celebration of cricket. Including our Afghan Connection partnered with the MCC Spirit of Cricket.

Chance to Shine President, Governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King said, "June 23rd will be the biggest festival of cricket ever held in Great Britain. It's a day on which we hope that the qualities engendered by cricket can extend beyond the cricket pitch and into the classroom."

King himself will be part of a 'Dream Cricket School' in London and will assist in a cricketing maths lesson, while a member of the England Cricket Team takes a P.E. class. Sports Minister Hugh Robertson will speak at a cricket-themed school assembly and other celebrity cricket fans will cover cross-curricular cricket classes at Johanna Primary School, near Waterloo.

On the day, special cricket-themed lessons will give the Curriculum a cricketing twist. For example, children will learn the difference between acute and obtuse angles in Maths through a range of cricket shots, or identify the cricket playing counties in Geography. The charity's web-based resource covers citizenship, humanities, literacy and numeracy. 

There will be a series of flagship events at schools nationwide*, from Cardiff to Durham, where high profile cricket ambassadors will be going back to school for the day. Abroad, the Afghan Connection charity will help give the day an international feel by organising a girls' cricket camp in Mazar-i-sharif, North Afghanistan on 23 June; while Willmott Park Primary School in Victoria, South Australia is also getting involved with indoor cricket and classroom activity despite it being the football season Down Under.

Over in Japan, the Japan Cricket Association will be working with young groups of children on cricket skills in Sano, the home of cricket in Japan, on Brit Insurance National Cricket Day. The JCA runs an initiative called 'Cricket for Smiles' which, like Chance to Shine, encourages more youngsters to play cricket. One of their aims is to go into areas of Japan worst affected by the March earthquake and deliver cricket equipment and resources to those who have lost everything.

Back home, Chance to Shine will once again receive support from the England and Wales Cricket Board, Marylebone Cricket Club and the Professional Cricketers' Association, as the cricket community gets behind the day.

Chance to Shine is also backed by England captain Andrew Strauss who spoke passionately about the charity and the educational benefits of cricket ahead of the first Test against Sri Lanka: "There's so much about cricket that prepares you for life: working in a team, communicating with other people, getting out and being active and learning how to win and how to lose."

"So many kids these days don't have the opportunity to play cricket in their schools. Chance to Shine has enabled over a million children to be able to play who wouldn't have otherwise played in the last six years. Ultimately, that's where the next generation of England cricketers is going to come from.

Wasim Khan, Chief Executive of the Cricket Foundation added: "Across Britain, cricket will unite children and teachers, clubs and schools on 23 June. Brit Insurance National Cricket Day is a great opportunity for us to celebrate the achievements of Chance to Shine which has had an impact on so many young lives over the past six years.

* Flagship Brit Insurance National Cricket Day events on Thursday 23 June:

Birmingham: Hollywood Primary School, Pickenham Road, Birmingham, B14 4TG (10am-12pm)

Brighton: Beach cricket festival between St. Margaret's, Patcham, St Luke's and Mile Oak schools @ Yellowave Beach Sports Venue, 299 Madeira Drive, Brighton, BN2 1EN

Bristol: Two Mile Hill Primary School, The Kingsway, Kingswood, Bristol, BS15 8AA (10am-12pm)

Cardiff: Tyn Y Wern School, Heol y Ysgol, Trethomas, Caerphilly, CF83 8FL

Chelmsford: Chelmer Valley High school support England Women v New Zealand @ The Ford County Ground, New Writtle Street, Chelmsford, CM2 0PG (3pm-5pm)

Cornwall: Schools beach competition @ Perranporth Beach, Beach Road, Perranporth, Cornwall TR6 0JL (2pm-5pm)

Durham: Neville's Cross Primary School, Relly Path, Durham, DH1 4JG (10am-12pm)

Leeds: Greenside Primary School, Chapeltown Greenside, Pudsey, LS28 8NZ (10am-12pm)

London: "Dream Cricket School" @ Johanna Primary School, Johanna Street, Lower Marsh, London, SE1 7RH (10am -  2pm)

Manchester:The Heys Primary, Whiteacre Road, Ashton-under-Lyne, Tameside OL6 9NS (10am-12pm)