A whole host of top county and international cricketers went back to school in the past two months to teach children to 'play hard, play fair, have fun', the motto of MCC Spirit of Cricket.

From Chester-le-Street to Chelmsford and many schools in between, children from Chance to Shine schools were given an assembly to remember, with interactive competition and video and real-life examples from some of their heroes. After assembly, the cricketers assisted with a cricket session for a lucky class.

Chris Tremlett led the way in London, speaking of his experiences of the MCC Spirit of Cricket at international level, and he impressed youngsters at Vauxhall Primary School with his batting in the playground.

Elsewhere, James Foster spoke to children in Chelmsford, Chris Read gave youngsters in Clifton a lesson in respect, Marcus Trescothick taught children the importance of fair play in Bunrham; and Robert Croft shared his experiences with children in Newport.

In 2012, around 400,000 children in just under 4,000 'Chance to Shine supported by Brit Insurance' schools will be introduced to the key MCC Spirit of Cricket messages enshrined in the Laws of the game, as a result of the MCC/Chance to Shine partnership. MCC and Chance to Shine have produced a special MCC Spirit of Cricket online DVD resource for school assemblies that cover key aspects of the MCC Spirit of Cricket.

<p>For more information on MCC Spirit of Cricket and click: http://www.lords.org/laws-and-spirit/mcc-chance-to-shine-in-schools/