Cricket meets Pop at The Rose Bowl for the Twenty20 Cup

Mis-Teeq, will entertain spectators on the opening day of the competition, Friday 13 June, at the Hampshire v Sussex match at the Rose Bowl. They will be supported by D'Side and United Colours of Sound. A capacity 9,000 sell-out is anticipated for the match, which will be televised live by Sky Sports.

Tickets for the opening game at the Rose Bowl can be bought from today by telephoning:

Ticket prices are £15 for adults and £10 for under sixteens.

Misteeq

Mis-Teeq - made up of three girls Alesha 23, Sabrina 23 and Su - Elise 20 - are a UK garage / R'n'B band who have had four top ten singles to date.

Their debut album Eye Candy, reached number five in the album charts earlier this month. The band won the 'Best Artist' award at last year's UK Garage Awards.

D'Side - are already following in the footsteps of two other famous Irish five-piece boybands (Westlife and Boyzone) by launching their career by winning 'Best New Act' at the Smash Hits Awards. Their debut song, 'Speachless', went into the top 10 last Sunday.

The Twenty20 Cup, the first brand new competition for county cricket since 1973, replaces the old Benson and Hedges Cup. It is cricket on fast-forward - 20 overs-a-side bouts contested over just two hours 45 mins and staged during the longest summer evenings in June. (Opening matches are on Friday 13 June).

Games start at 5.30pm, the action is conveniently timed for the post-school and office audiences.

The 18 First Class Counties are split into three regional groups of six teams each, with the three group winners and the best runner-up progressing to a Finals Day at Trent Bridge on Saturday 19 July. Aside from the on-pitch action, off-the-field entertainment will include live bands, replay screens, BBQ zones and karaoke machines, with musical instruments and fancy dress codes encouraged to help create the perfect evening out.

A new prize money structure will be implemented to encourage both team victories and individual performances. The Twenty20 champions will receive £42,000, the runners-up will get £21,000 and the losing-semi-finalists £10,000. Extra incentives will also be made to the best performing individuals with cash prizes of up to £1,500 going to the best performing batsmen, bowlers and all-rounders.

npower is the first official partner of the Twenty20 Cup. More official partners are anticipated.

Match details and ticket information can be found at www.ecb.co.uk/twenty20