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The kite climbs higher and higher, like a bird in the sky at the Wankhede Stadium. The string is held by couple of Delhi players who are egged on by their team-mates. Some distance to their right, the Uttar Pradesh players are indulging in a bit of fun as well. The relaxed atmosphere belies the fact that come tomorrow, and both these teams will be fighting for the coveted Ranji Trophy.Eleven years have flown by since Delhi last reached, and lost, the final while Uttar Pradesh are back in the summit clash after two years. Both teams are, obviously, desperate to win. Delhi want to forget their recent sordid past, when political machinations and faulty selection processes used to hog the headlines. Surprisingly, cricket has been the sole topic of discussion this season. It’s a refreshing change for some of the senior players, who only a year back were considering switching states to get away from the mess.For the last few seasons, players from Delhi would make it to the national team, but at the domestic stage the team struggled. “Many players went on to play for India but the team was not winning anything,” says Vijay Dahiya, the coach, who played in that 1996-97 final. “That has hurt the players. They want to set that record right. If you talk to anyone this season, you will realise their focus is entirely on doing well for Delhi.”The senior players like Gautam Gambhir and Aakash Chopra concur. It is their first Ranji final and both want to make it memorable. “We want to experience that feeling of winning the Ranji Trophy, that’s the greatest motivation,” says Gambhir, Delhi’s captain. “I was always passionate about playing for Delhi. It has given me the platform to play for India and at one stage you have to give back to your state as well. This is my chance.”Mohammad Kaif, the UP captain, has tasted that winning feeling before and wants more of it. “Winning the title is the key focus and not individual selections for the national side. That will come when we win this. The last time we won, a few players went on to play for the country. But the focus was right – win the title and reap the rewards. Not the other way around.”If Delhi want to leave behind the past, Uttar Pradesh want to create a new future. Their success story has been despite the system. They have bypassed the infrastructural speed-breakers – poor practice facilities, the substandard gyms – to repeat the story of 2005-06. Like that year, they have come from behind to enter the final. They hope a victory here will help in sprucing up the system.One of the biggest challenges for both teams is the wicket that has been laid out by curator Sudhir Naik. The surface has a fair sprinkling of grass and promises to offer bounce and movement. Both teams, while praising the “international quality track” are pretty wary of it. Unless things change dramatically overnight, it’s almost certain that the captain winning the toss will choose to bowl. Naik, relieved of the pressure of producing a lifeless track for the usual hosts Mumbai, has laid out a wicket which should produce a decisive result. “A few players from both teams did come to me, enquiring whether the grass would be removed. I had to disappoint them,” Naik says with a chuckle. “It is definitely going to help the pacers and I won’t be surprised to see a team getting bowled out on the first day.” Dahiya admitted he would bowl first and Kaif hinted at the same.The pitch is hardly a greentop, but considering how domestic batsmen from all teams have repeatedly folded up whenever the wicket was a touch difficult – the semi-finals are the most recent examples – Naik’s assessment could well turn out to be right.

The contest will come down to how the either team’s batsmen measure up against the opposition fast bowlers. Both sides have a decent pace attack led by young promising talent. If it’s Sudeep Tyagi, who has the second-highest tally of the season with 39 wickets at 19.84, leading the attack for UP, then Pradeep Sangwan, with 24 wickets at 21.20 and fresh from a successful tour with the India Under-19 team, will be the spearhead for Delhi.If UP have Praveen Kumar, with 28 wickets at 16.28, to give able support to Tyagi, Delhi have Sumit Narwal and one of either Parvinder Awana or Amit Bhandari – Gambhir’s one selection headache will be which one of the two to select. In addition, both teams have a medium-pacer – the in-form Rajat Bhatia for Delhi and Bhuvneshwar Kumar for UP – to do the dirty job of performing as stock bowlers.The spin threat is posed by legspinners for both teams: Piyush Chawla – who was seen practising a lot in the nets, trying to bowl with a more round-arm action to get more fizz on the legbreaks – for UP and Chetanya Nanda for Delhi.The bowling attack balances out but what about the batting? Delhi outscore UP in this department, with three batsmen – Gambhir, Chopra and Mithun Manhas – who have scored almost 600 runs this season. In addition, they have Shikhar Dhawan with 502 runs and Bhatia with 386. UP’s batting has revolved around Kaif, who is in glorious form (670 runs) and Suresh Raina, with 582. However, the batting has dropped a notch after a fiery start. They will be happy to have Tanmay Srivastava returning from the India Under-19 outing in South Africa and will hope that he can give them a good start, something that UP have failed to produce consistently this season. However, Delhi clearly have the edge in batting, especially as their opening batsmen are of proven quality and can be expected to tackle the new-ball threat.What could work to UP’s advantage is the fact that they have played three consecutive pressure-cooker games and are battle-hardened as a result. They faced relegation before the game against Bengal but won by an innings and have rode on the momentum ever since. They swept aside Hyderabad by 132 runs in their last league game before clinching a low-scoring semi-final against Saurashtra.Considering they had taken a similar path in their championship year of 2005-06, UP also have the advantage of having been there and done that as recently as two years ago. Pitted against that bullishness is Delhi’s desperation to end the title drought. The stakes couldn’t be higher and the battle couldn’t be fiercer. It’s game on at the Wankhede Stadium.

Saqlain Mushtaq is unlikely to be considered for the Pakistan squad to tour India after failing to recover in time from knee surgery. Saqlain, whose last Test appearance produced unflattering figures of 1 for 204 against India at Multan last year, is still on crutches, and has little or no chance of getting games under his belt before the squad is chosen on February 18.Saqlain enjoyed a wonderful tour in 1999, when his offspin was the difference between the two teams in an epic Chennai Test decided by his dismissal of Sachin Tendulkar. But despite an impressive haul of 208 wickets in his 49 Test, Saqlain has been on the periphery in recent seasons, with Danish Kaneria now firmly ensconced as the premier slow bowler.Another to miss out on the Indian experience will be Umar Gul, whose intelligent use of swing and seam won Pakistan the Lahore Test against India last year. Gul broke down during that game and was subsequently diagnosed with three stress fractures in his spine. South African specialists, who have been monitoring his progress, don’t expect to have a clear picture until at least June.In Saqlain’s absence, the likes of Shahid Afridi – who was in great form in the VB series and who made a thrilling Test hundred at Kolkata in 1999 – might come into contention to supplement the spin-bowling component.There are also injury concerns over Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami, neither of who played a part in Pakistan’s improved displays at the denouement of the VB Series in Australia. However, both should be fit to face India, if selected.

It was another predictable day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, where West Indies played out its final preparatory match before next week’s first Test against Australia.As the tourists completed their third sub-200 total from four first-class innings played on this tour so far, a spectator fanned a banner pleading “Bring back Viv”. But the great Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards was nowhere in sight. And just as last week was Western Australia’s opportunity to upstage these once-feared tourists, so this week became Victoria’s chance to annihilate them.The result for the Windies: a seven-wicket loss in Perth, followed by today’s innings and sixty-three run drubbing inside three days by the bottom-ranked Australian domestic side. And both coach Roger Harper and captain Jimmy Adams are at a loss for explanations.”I have no explanation. It has been a disappointing performance to put it mildly. I’m not one to get angry but I’m very very disappointed,” said Harper.”It is very very frustrating because I know we are capable of a lot better cricket than we have displayed here and as we displayed in Western Australia. But it’s difficult to put an exact finger on it as to what will bring out the consistency we’re still striving for. Physically, I have no doubt that we’re working a lot harder, a lot better in terms of preparation. We’re still trying to get the precise, definite answer,” he said.Asked about what went wrong with the team’s batting – they were bowled out for 167 in the first innings and 114 in the second – Adams was direct.”I won’t take very long to describe, it’s just not good enough,” he said. “The bottom line is that we’re just not batting as well as we should be batting. We’re just not doing the basic consistent things. It’s just not happening.”For Victorian captain Darren Berry on the other hand, the match couldn’t have gone better. His bowlers began well in the first innings under overcast conditions on a helpful pitch, his batsmen continued the good work by amassing 7/344, and the Bushrangers finally tasted their opening first-class victory of the season. To top it all off, Berry himself claimed his four hundredth first-class catch today.”I think everything went right for Victoria. I think the toss was the start because it was a difficult wicket to bat on. I thought our bowlers bowled well and it was a good team effort. I don’t think it’s my position to comment on how the West Indies played, I’m more concerned about how Victoria played and I was extremely happy with our performance,” he said.The stars for Victoria were twenty-year-old paceman Mathew Inness (9/73 for the match, including career best figures of 6/26 in the first innings) and twenty-five year-old batsman Brad Hodge (134*), who was forced to retire hurt overnight after a Courtney Walsh delivery left his thumb severely bruised.There were other positives too. The patient batting of Jason Arnberger (99) in the first innings. The bowling of first-class debutant Ben Oliver (2/13 off six overs in the second innings, including the crucial wicket of Brian Lara). The successful return from injury of Damien Fleming (2/27 off tenovers today). And of course, the clever bowling of Test spinner Colin Miller (3/26 off 15.3 overs).After losses in the opening two Pura Cup matches, Berry believes today’s win will give the Victorians the confidence and inspiration they need for the next round of domestic matches.For the West Indians, the result simply exacerbates their woeful start to this Australian tour. With the first Test just four days away, the search is on for that elusive answer to their problems.Adams thinks the answer lies within. “I don’t think it’s so much a technical problem. I think what we have to do is to do whatever we can amongst ourselves to reinforce to the team that the players here are good players, quality players. I think they’re players that have done enough often enough, and ones who you figure will always carry that self belief. There might be a few younger players where it’s up to the rest of us to keep reinforcing that ‘You are good enough and you’re here because you’re goodenough’.”Adams says the most important thing is for the team to come together to solve the problems. “I think everybody has a role to play. I think even players who are struggling and might be young players, they still have a role to play. It’s not going to happen because one man stands up, it’s going to happen because the whole team comes together. And as well, you can’t get away from the fact that it is going to require discipline.”At the same time, coach Harper says the team still has time to realise its potential. “I still think we have it in us to play good cricket and precisely because of our unpredictability, it’s possible for us to getthrown out there and string it together. And hopefully we can achieve it come the Test match,” he said.

The Tasmanian Cricket Association has announced 20 players who have been awarded first-round contracts for the 2005-06 season. Travis Birt and David Dawson have been given full contracts after being upgraded from rookie status during the 2004-05 season. Dane Anderson, Jason Shelton and Ben Hilfenhaus are the three new players who have been awarded rookie contracts.While making the announcement, Peter Faulkner, the chairman of selectors, said the TCA was looking to build on the success of last season in the ING Cup and develop the young players in the squad. “It is gratifying to see that two of last year’s rookies have progressed to senior contracts this season,” said Faulkner, “and the wealth of young talent in Tasmania has been recognised in awarding rookie contracts to four local players.”The second round of the contract process will be completed within the next two weeks. Under the Cricket Australia Memorandum of Understanding each state must have a minimum of 16 senior and 4 rookie contracts in place by 11 July 2005.Senior Contracted Members
George Bailey, Travis Birt, Michael Bevan, Luke Butterworth, Sean Clingeleffer, Jamie Cox, David Dawson, Michael Dighton, Michael Di Venuto, Xavier Doherty, Andrew Downton, Brett Geeves, Adam Griffith, Dan Marsh, Damien Wright, Ricky Ponting (CA)Rookie Contracted Members
Dane Anderson, Ben Hilfenhaus, Tim Paine, Jason Shelton

Everyone’s taking a pop at county cricket at the moment, and now that old workaholic county-pro-made-good Alec Stewart has had his two-penn’orth.

Speaking after receiving a lifetime achievement award at last night’s Professional Cricketers Association dinner at the London Hilton, Stewart stressed the need for administrators to put the national side first, and insisted English-qualified players should be looked after first and foremost. Stewart said: “To me, the most important thing is that we produce the right number of international-class cricketers. Instead of having a bare 12, 13, 14, we’ve got to be producing 20. To do that, a lot of things need to be changed.”He continued: “We need to reduce the number of playing days and have more days when the players are able to practise and improve their skills. At the same time, I’d knock on the head the number of overseas players and EU passports that come into the game. I’d make sure that English cricketers, and English-qualified cricketers, are the ones who are looked after properly.”Stewart’s comments came in the wake of endless calls for a domestic shake-up from other high-profile names. In this month’s launch issue of Michael Vaughan laid down the law, and caused a stir, by saying that the amount of Championship cricket should be halved and played between Test matches. Meanwhile, Bob Willis has formed the Cricket Reform Group, a select band including another England captain in Michael Atherton, which has convened this season to discuss where English cricket has gone wrong, and what they can do about it.In The , Atherton wrote: “Few … would disagree that there are fundamental problems: that the England team are inconsistent and underachieving (for more decades than just one); that the amount of money spent on the county game is disproportionate to its popularity and effectiveness as a breeding ground.” And Athers, like others, suggested the same old remedy: “We would like to see a reduced county programme of fewer full-time professional teams – a concentration of the best English-qualified players to improve the standard of our first-class programme.”Atherton revealed that his suggestions were given short shrift by one or two cynics in the midst of England’s fifth-Test wonder win at The Oval. But he argued that English cricket was at its most complacent after a rousing win to end the summer. Derek Pringle, writing in The , wasn’t fooled either: “Behind the shop window, pessimism abounds as the county game tries to serve an ever-widening circle of masters on a dwindling budget.”In other words, they seemed to be saying, even though it has been an action-packed, exciting and sun-kissed season, underlying troubles are lurking just around the corner – namely financial ones. Pringle, splitting infinitives as deftly as he used to split the cover field, decreed: “What is certain is that no domestic game can properly flourish while trying to simultaneously meet the needs of broadcasters, Team England and county members, modest in number and financial clout though that last group are.” And the fact that wages are spiralling doesn’t help either. Surrey had to release Ian Ward and Alec Stewart because they couldn’t afford to pay them, and Essex dumped five players for the same reason.And then there’s the problem of EU players. “Apart from the extra cost, it mocks the efforts of those involved in youth development, though nearly every club are guilty,” said Pringle. As well as the 55 overseas players this season, another 29 were ineligible for England, playing here under European passports. That equals 84 players out of 379, or 22%.So is anything going to be done about it? The county chairmen are understandably opposed the idea of merging, while a reduction in fixtures would presumably lead to a reduction in gate receipts. Nothing can be done about EU passport-holders without infringing European law, and England’s fixture list next summer looks more like a four-month festival rather than an international schedule.David Morgan, the chairman of the ECB, and Tim Lamb, the chief executive, have agreed to meet with the Cricket Reform Group. Morgan has already made it clear that none of the 18 first-class counties will be axed, but he does concede that the amount of cricket could be cut. It will be interesting to see how that meeting goes, in the face of increasing calls for change.

Scorecard

The Eagles beat the Lions by 59 runs at Goodyear Park in Bloemfontein, and in so doing extended their Standard Bank Cup lead to 10 points.After being put in, the Eagles started off in a rush. Morne van Wyk and Jonathan Beukus brought up the 100 up in 17 overs with the Lions pace attack struggling with their length. Far too many short balls were bowled giving the two plenty of opportunity to hook and cut.David Terbrugge broke through with the wicket of Beukus for 45 and then Benjamin Hector was needlessly run out for 4. Adam Bacher and Derek Crookes slowed the run rate but innings’ foundation had been laid. Van Wyk had laboured to 78 when Bacher trapped him in front, leaving it to Davey Jacobs to score 50 off 53 balls before he too was run out helping the Eagles to 247 for 5.The Lions batting just never looked the part while the bowlers, with home ground advantage, found their length early on. Stephen Cook struggled to 58 as the middle order failed dismally, collapsing to 116 for 7. Throwing caution to the wind, Enoch Nkwe showed some attacking spirit to register a career-best 49 not out while Adam Bacher (27) and Garnett Kruger (10 not out) were the only other batsmen to get into double figures. At the end of the 45 overs the Lions were 188 for 9, 10 runs short of saving the bonus point.
Scorecard

An exciting match at Willowmoore Park in Benoni ended in victory for the Titans as they chased down the 219 set by the Dolphins.Batting first after being sent in, the Dolphins recovered well with Doug Watson and Wade Wingfield putting on 51 after the early loss of Imraan Khan. Dale Benkenstein, the in-form ex-Dolphins captain, scored 59 as he upped the tempo. Lance Klusener, again batting at No. 8, swung the bat for a quick 30 but was again left not out after only facing 30 balls. With one of the most lethal strikers of a cricket ball batting so low down the order, one wonders about the Dolphins tactics. In they end they could only muster 219 for 7 in their 45 overs.The Titans made heavy work at the start. Alviro Petersen was out in the third over and then AB de Villiers and Goolam Bodi put on a subdued 69 before Bodi was caught for 30. de Villiers followed, caught behind for 50 while Daryll Cullinan hardly troubled the scorers. Needing eight an over – and rising – things looked all over the Titans. Justin Kemp and Gerald Dros then turned the game around with some lusty blows, and by the time Kemp was caught for 54 only 20 runs were required off 21 balls. The partnership had been worth 96 runs in 14 overs. In the end the Titans won with an over to spare and Dros undefeated on 59.

Latest points tablesHosts Ireland, along with Bermuda, booked their places in the semi-finals with wins in the last round of group matches. Bermuda’s victory meant that they (and Ireland) will be involved in the Caribbean’s 2007 World Cup, as well gaining ODI status for four years and $500,000 of funding from the ICC.But Denmark, who came into the tournament as outsiders and who rated their own best hope as a sixth-place finish, saw their own dreams of a place in the last four evaporate as they were well beaten by Ireland who had Ed Joyce to thank for bailing them out after they slipped to 28 for 3. Denmark needed a good start in chasing 223 in unhelpful conditions, but lost early wickets and despite a spirited 58 from Baljit Singh, fell 73 runs short. But Ireland will have to do without Joyce from now on in as he returns to Middlesex.Denmark will now meet Netherlands on Saturday with the winners of that tie going on to play the winners of the other play-off between UAE and Namibia. The side that wins that game will join the four semi-finalists in the World Cup.Bermuda took full advantage of Denmark’s slip by routing USA in a one-sided meeting at Waringstown. Bermuda were wobbling on 88 for 4, but Janeiro Summers (132) and Dean Minors (41) savaged the dispirited bowling, enabling them to reach 311 for 8. USA, whose performances have been verging on the shambolic, were never remotely in the hunt and they were bowled out for 198 with more than 14 overs of their innings remaining. One of the pre-tournament favourites, they slink back home without a win to their name.UAE, another one of the fancied teams to have had a disappointing tournament, ended with a win over Uganda, one of the surprise packages. Naeemuddin led the way with 76, but with only two batsmen passing 20, UAE’s final score of 201 looked very chasable. But Uganda lost early wickets, slipping to 66 for 6, before finally being bowled out for 138.

Leicestershire have signed two former Test cricketers, Claude Henderson and Ottis Gibson, as they strengthen their squad ahead of the 2004 county season.Henderson played seven Tests as a spinner for South Africa, and Gibson two Tests as a fast-bowling allrounder for West Indies, although under European law, neither man counts as an overseas player.Gibson, 35, who last played international cricket in January 1999, has been working as an ECB coach since 2001 and has applied for UK citizenship. But it is Henderson’s circumstances that are of particular interest. He is eligible as a non-overseas player because South Africa has an associate agreement with the European Union, and has chosen not to make himself available for the national team.”I’ve forfeited my right to play in South Africa," said Henderson, "so I am grateful for the opportunity to play first-class cricket in England." He is the first player to benefit directly from a recent judgment in the European court, where a Slovakian handball player, Maros Kolpak, won the right to play in Germany without being classified as a foreigner. And, given that Leicestershire’s leading spinner, Jeremy Snape, managed only ten wickets last season, he is sure to play a major role in the coming season.Gibson’s case is more straightforward, although his main role will be off the field, as he is to double up as Leicestershire’s bowling coach. "With their recent restructuring, Leicestershire is the perfect club for me," he said. "I sense a real desire for improvement, and I aim to help the club from the grass-roots to the professional game.”

Ricky Ponting, the Australian captain, has said that he was both happy and relieved after playing a vital innings of 156, which helped Australia to secure a thrilling draw against England in the third Test at Old Trafford.Ponting denied the England bowlers for seven hours but his epic vigil appeared to have been futile when he gloved a catch to the wicketkeeper, eaving Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath to face four overs from Andrew Flintof and Steve Harmison. But both survived some gut-wrenching moments as Australia hung on for a draw.”I thought I had let the whole thing slip so the emotions have been up and down all day,” Ponting was quoted as saying in AFP. “I had a little tantrum when I got out and sat in the dressing-room with my head down for a while because I thought the game had slipped away from us. It was difficult enough for me batting out there against Flintoff and Harmison at the end,” said Ponting whose 156 was his personal best against England, “so having Glenn and Brett subject to it for four overs meant I didn’t have a lot of faith in them. But they managed to get through and do a fantastic job once again, as they have all series.”Michael Vaughan, the England captain, said that he was very proud of the way his side had played at Old Trafford. Having outplayed Australia for most of the Test only one wicket stood between England from taking a 2-1 lead in the series. “We were one wicket away from going 2-1 up,” he said, “and a lot of people will say ‘you must be disappointed’ but I’m very proud of the way the team have responded to going 1-0 down at Lord’s [where England lost the series opener by 239 runs last month]. Three weeks ago we were written off; we were out of the contest, 5-0 I kept on hearing. It’s now 1-1 with two to play.”Vaughan said that he was pleased with how the team had coped with tense situations in the series. “The team and individuals have shown a lot of character. We’ve got nine days to rest our bodies and minds. We will arrive next week at Trent Bridge fully focused and hoping to go 2-1 up there.”With Ian Bell scoring two fifties at Old Trafford and impressive performances from their bowlers, Vaughan felt that England had a very bright future because of the young talent in the side. “I think this England team can go as far as it wants to. We’ve shown, in the last two weeks, we’ve got a lot of character, a lot of ability and a lot of young players in the team which only bodes well for future.”Vaughan added that at no stage during the Test did he think that the match was won. “You can never think you’ve done it against Australia. There was a time when we took the ninth wicket and you’ve got four overs to go and you think you’ve got an opportunity. But those two [Lee and McGrath] hung in very well. I think we really used our resources well this week on this wicket, both with batting and bowling.”While a draw is never as good as a win, Ponting said that he was happy with how the team had rallied and salvaged parity from a grim situation. Rating his innings as one of his best, Ponting said, “That was one of my best knocks, not just a match-saving one. It is satisfying to put your hand up when it matters and do the things the team requires as a batter and as a leader. I don’t think a draw ever feels like a win but we worked extremely hard to sneak away. It was a long, hard day of Test cricket and an unbelievable Test match once again.”We have had to scrap and fight for everything; this is certainly the highest-intensity Test cricket I have played in for the last four or five years and you won’t find two better tussles than you have witnessed over the last two weeks,” said Ponting. “We haven’t done a lot right but they’ve been unbelievable games.”After being set 423 to win, Ponting admitted that victory had never been a serious possibility. “We thought if we could get through the first two sessions of play without losing many wickets an opportunity might present itself in the last session. If we had wickets in hand we could have had a go at it. We wanted to remain positive and at the end of the day we were only 52 runs away and we haven’t tried at all to win that Test match because we weren’t in a position to do that.”Australia’s batting has looked suspect all series and Ponting said that the performances of the top order weren’t satisfactory. “We’ve had two really good wickets to bat on in our first innings and we’ve only just managed to get to three hundred both times. That’s not good enough. We’ve got guys who are in good form and look good for short periods of time and they are just getting out. We’ve got to rectify that. If we actually start finding some form and hitting top gear you’d like to think the results would be slightly different.”Though the game ended in a draw, Vaughan said that England were dominant throughout the Test match and would take a lot of positives from the game. “We’ve been talking about psychological advantages and disadvantages all summer,” said Vaughan. “We can take a lot out of this game. We’ve dominated four days of Test cricket against the number one team in the world. I don’t think we lost any sessions.”Simon Jones, who took 6 for 53 in Australia’s first innings, was singled out for praise. “His [Jones’] bowling has come on in leaps and bounds since the Bangladesh series this season, said Vaughan. “To get six for 53 against the Aussies is a great effort.”Old Trafford was packed with 23,000 fans for the match and Vaughan was appreciative of their support. “I couldn’t believe how many people were outside the ground. It’s fantastic. It does show a respect for the two teams who are playing out there. They are playing good cricket, it’s great entertainment and the nation’s talking about it.”He said that he hoped that the last two Tests would do justice to the high-quality cricket that’s been on display so far. “I really do hope the final two games are as good as the last two because I think the series deserves that. Trent Bridge should be another classic, turn up.”

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.”