Cumbrian cricketers could play a major role as the County Championship comes to their home county this weekend.

With Lancashire’s Emirates Old Trafford currently out of bounds as it’s being used as a host ground for the Cricket World Cup, the Red Rose county will use Cumbrian school, Sedbergh, as an outground for their County Championship Division Two clash against Durham, which starts on Sunday.

Surrey all-rounder Jordan Clark, of Cleator, and Cockermouth’s former Durham left-arm quick bowler Jamie Harrison are among those to have left the school and played cricket professionally, while ex-Sussex and Durham man Martin Speight is the school’s head of cricket.

Headmaster Dan Harrison is keen for the four-day match to be a success.

“I’m sure it will be absolutely great and we are hugely looking forward to the fixture,” he said.

“We have our fingers crossed with the weather. Hopefully, it [the game] will bring good business into the town, as well.”

To take in the action, Lancashire supporters who live near their Emirates Old Trafford ground will face approximately an 80-mile journey to Sedbergh, while Durham’s fans travelling from the Emirates Riverside ground will face a similar length of journey.

But Harrison hopes the game will attract fans from not just Durham and Lancashire, but from Cumbria and the Yorkshire area, too.

“We are very much on the border,” he explained. “Sedbergh used to be in Yorkshire but is now classed as being in Cumbria, although with a Lancashire postcode.

"So, hopefully, that will help us to attract fans from Yorkshire, Cumbria, Lancashire and Durham.”

Under the watchful eye of Speight, Sedbergh School, which is 25 minutes from Kendal, look set to develop more cricketers who are capable of making a name for themselves in first-class cricket.

Having captained England’s Under-19s at the World Cup in New Zealand at the start of last year, batsman Harry Brook then enjoyed a breakthrough season in Yorkshire’s first-team and was rewarded for it with a two-year contract extension which will keep him at Headingley until the end of 2021.

He has been joined by Sedbergh first-team captain George Hill in the Yorkshire ranks, penning his first professional contract with the club last month.

Harrison said: “We are fortunate to get at least one of our cricket teams into national finals day most years.

"Jordan Clark used to play for Lancashire, and now is at Surrey [Jordan’s brother, Graham, also plays cricket professionally for Durham]. Harry Brook is at Yorkshire and George Hill, who is our current first-team captain, has also recently signed his first professional contract with Yorkshire.”

And Harrison also praised the work Speight does at the school.

“We have a fantastic head of cricket in Martin Speight, who used to play for Durham, and I’m sure he is looking forward to it, as well,” he added.

With the ground described by Lancashire’s director of cricket Paul Allott as “without doubt the most picturesque ground in the country”, former Barrow Cricket Club man Liam Livingstone and ex-Cumberland fast bowler Richard Gleeson could be among the “home” side.

Meanwhile, for Durham, rising Cumbrian all-rounder Liam Trevaskis and Graham Clark, from Cleator, could feature.

Harrison said: “We are very proud of our ground. It’s often voted as one of the best grounds in the country. We feel that we can put on a good four days.

"We have never done anything on this scale before, but we are still confident we can put on a good show for the game.”

Tickets for the match cost £10 per day for adults, tickets for senior citizens will be £8 and £5 for Under-18s. There is limited availability for tickets on day one.