Four-figure sponsor for Staffs cricket

The Staffs Clubs Cricket Championship has announced a sponsorship deal which will inject a four-figure sum and change the name of the league.

The deal with West Bromwich-based Cicada Sports will provide a cash boost for the league during the first 12 months of a possible three-year link-up, guaranteeing the league's financial stability for the foreseeable future.

From next season, the league will be renamed The Cicada Sports Staffs Club Cricket Championship.

The sponsors will also provide each club with a set of stumps, sponsor the batting and bowling awards for each division, and provide the best batsman with a top of the range Cicada brand bat and best bowler with a voucher for a pair of bowling boots.

They will also kit out the league representative teams and league umpires.

League vice-chairman Dave Unitt said: "I'm delighted to announce Cicada Sports will be the league's first sponsor from the 2009 season and that the league will be renamed.

"We're delighted to be working with a local company who has the interests of local sport at heart. We're looking forward to a long and successful partnership with Cicada Sports.

"We're entering a new era for the league. We have administered it on a strict financial budget which has not allowed us to reinvest in our member clubs and grass roots cricket.

"Today, with the ever-increasing costs associated with running the game, we needed to find a sponsor."

Cicada is run by former Warwickshire cricketer Phil Oliver and his partners Alex Williams and Steve Copson from their showroom in Great Bridge.