Championship deal extended until 2009

The ECB has secured an extension to their sponsorship of the County Championship by Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society running up to 2009. Currently known under the name Frizzell, the Championship will now take the name Liverpool Victoria - the company's main public brand.

The deal is worth £1.2 million to the ECB over the four years and Ian Cordwell, Liverpool Victoria's Group Marketing Director, said: "The sponsorship has been very successful for Frizzell and we now want to transfer the benefits of the media coverage and other exposure to our main public brand Liverpool Victoria, which is promoted to a wider audience. We believe there is a good match between cricket followers and our target audience, and the sponsorship will therefore allow us to reach a large percentage of our existing and potential customers."

The ECB's Commercial Director John Perera says the new deal highlights the current strength of cricket. "We are delighted that Liverpool Victoria has decided to extend the sponsorship of the County Championship for another four years. This demonstrates the popularity and appeal of cricket to commercial partners at a very exciting time for the sport."