In Oxfordshire, 15 schools from across the county have entered the competition alongside 12 from neighbouring Berkshire.
Unsurprisingly on the south coast, 22 schools from first-class county Hampshire have entered, and will be joined by nine from Dorset and five from the Isle of Wight.
They make up just a small section of the 750 schools across England and Wales taking part in the cup’s inaugural edition, with more than a thousand teams taking part across the boys and girls competition.
“Whilst of course anyone that enters the competition wants to win it, let’s be clear, this is about much more than that,” former England and Middlesex batter Smith said.
“The more people that finish this competition with a love of cricket, that’s how we should measure its success.”