ECB's UKP 6 million deal with CGU marks new era for cricket (5 March 1999)

5 March 1999

ECB's UKP 6 million deal with CGU marks new era for cricket

ECB Media Release

The England and Wales Cricket Board today (Friday) announced that CGU Life will be the first sponsors of the new National Cricket League in an agreement worth more than UKP 6 million.

The company, one of the UK's largest providers of life assurance, pensions and investments, will sponsor the competition, to be known as the CGU National Cricket League, for the next four years.

The agreement, the biggest of its kind for a domestic one-day league, coincides with the introduction of a host of exciting new, innovations to the one-day competition this season.

They include:

The total prize money for the new competition will be nearly £200,000 with the winners of the CGU NCL Division One receiving £53,000 and the winners of Division Two receiving UKP 26,000.

CGU will also sponsor the ECB's new development game for teenagers at secondary schools and clubs as part of the ECB's policy to give major sponsors a stake in every level of the game.

Announcing the deal, Lord MacLaurin, the Chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board said: "This agreement is a tremendous boost for cricket and will be of enormous help to us in our plans to modernise the First Class game. We believe the combination of more floodlit matches, added emphasis on colour and spectacle, and a more competitive playing structure will help attract new spectators - especially youngsters - to our national summer game.

"We welcome CGU Life's decision to become a major cricket sponsor and believe that they will benefit considerably from being associated with this new and exciting competition."

CGU plc Chief Executive Bob Scott said: "The opportunity to get involved with what is nothing short of a new era for cricket was too good to miss especially as we are a new organisation borne out of the merger of Commercial Union and General Accident.

"We were very impressed with the ECB's plans to revolutionise the County game and we look forward to working with them to produce an exciting and visually stimulating one-day product which will help enhance cricket's position as the country's premier summer sport."

The agreement was brokered by the Loch Lomond-based sponsorship agency Murray Sports Marketing.

The CGU National Cricket League is a new one-day competition. It replaces The Sunday League which was launched in 1969.

The CGU NCL will feature two divisions, each consisting of nine First Class County teams. For the first time in County Cricket, there will be promotion and relegation with three up, three down.

The composition of the two divisions was based on teams' final positions in last year's AXA Life League. The top nine qualified for a place in the new CGU NCL Division One.

The teams will play each other twice over a 16 match season. Matches will be played at weekends and on weekday evenings under floodlights. All matches will be played in coloured clothing and with a white ball.

Selected NCL matches will be broadcast live and exclusively by Sky Sports starting with Leicestershire v Hampshire at Grace Road on April 17. Sky will screen a minimum of 20 matches in 1999 rising to 30 matches in 2000.

The first round of matches will be played over the weekend of Saturday, April 17 and Sunday, April 18. The season reaches its climax on Sunday, September 19.

CGU National Cricket League - Division One

Essex
Gloucestershire
Hampshire
Kent
Lancashire
Leicestershire
Warwickshire
Worcestershire
Yorkshire

CGU National Cricket League - Division Two

Derbyshire
Durham
Glamorgan
Middlesex
Northamptonshire
Nottinghamshire
Somerset
Surrey
Sussex

Andrew Walpole
ECB Media Relations Officer
phone: 0171 4321252/0385527102

Ian Harper
CGU Life
phone: 01904 452172/0410 011428

Charlie Mann
Connexus
phone: 0131 200 1122/07971 579616

John Murray
Murray Sports Marketing
phone: 01389 758111/0966261634

Source :: ECB