A master potter who has worked for Prince Charles was given another right royal honour as the Cricket World Cup Trophy made a flying visit to his studio.

Jon Church, a master craftsman at Middleport Pottery, led six local schoolchildren through a pottery session as part of the ICC Cricket World Cup Trophy.

Church, who has dabbled in trophy design himself having designed silverware for golf’s Singapore Open, was blown away to have the famous cup so close to his wheel.  

“It’s wonderful to have the trophy in my studio – I’ve worked on a few in the past but never actually got so close to a completed one,” he said.

“It’s a great honour to host the trophy and I think everyone at Middleport was so surprised when we heard it was coming to Stoke.

“Prince Charles is a patron of Middleport and I’ve met him three or four times when he’s come up and visited. He’s well known to the staff here.

“I’ve been working in the business for 30 years and have worked for sheikhs and princes all over the world – this is a little bit different again!

“I’ve done a few local cricket trophies but nothing that comes close to this.”

In the heart of the iconic Potteries, pupils from Saint Nathaniel’s Academy spent the morning carving out their own special cricket-themed creations, from cricket balls to replica trophies.

The children earned the opportunity after winning a competition run in conjunction with the Staffordshire Cricket Board that saw them submit drawings of their own trophy design.

“It was so fun because we all got to take our turn and make different shapes,” said Saint Nathaniel’s pupil Nikola Mazurkiewicz, eight.

“I had made some clay models at home before and been to a pottery on a school trip but it was cool to try it for myself.

“I think the clay felt like mashed potato on my hands! It felt really squidgy and weird to touch and we had to hold on really tight because the wheel was moving fast.

“But we all had a lot of fun and having the trophy there was great.”

The ICC Cricket World Cup Trophy Tour, supported by Nissan, is on a 100-day tour of England and Wales and will be at over 100 locations and events before arriving back in London ready for the opening match on May 30.