The England and Wales Cricket Board today announced that Norwich Union, sponsor of the one-day League competition, will not be renewing its sponsorship when the existing four-year contract expires at the end of the 2002 season.

Sally Shire, Director of Brand & Communications, Norwich Union, said, "Our decision not to renew our sponsorship of the League is because we wish to consolidate our sponsorship activities and focus spend on one major sporting sponsorship. In line with this, in autumn 2001 we agreed a wide reaching new sponsorship deal with UK Athletics.

"Over the last three years, Norwich Union has enjoyed an excellent partnership with the ECB and we would like to thank them for their work in making the Norwich Union League into the innovative and successful competition it is today. We wish them the best of luck with the further development of this competition and their other initiatives."

Norwich Union began its association with the one-day League in 1999 under the name of CGU. In addition to its sponsorship of County Cricket, the company has also supported the successful introduction of the ECB's key development game, Inter Cricket. This initiative has brought cricket to thousands of 12-14 year olds who may not have previously played the game. Indeed, this winter's Inter Cricket programme is involving a quarter of all secondary schools, around 1,100, throughout the country.

Tim Lamb, Chief Executive of the ECB, said, "Norwich Union have been wonderful sponsors of cricket these past three years. Their energy, enthusiasm and readiness to be pro-active marketeers of their competition have been major factors behind the success of the Norwich Union League. We are also hugely grateful for their strong support of grass roots cricket - the early successes of Inter Cricket would not have been possible without them. Of course, it is disappointing to lose such a valued partner, but we fully understand and appreciate their reasons and wish them all the best in their association with UK Athletics."

"These are exciting times for cricket, as we will soon make a decision on the structure of professional cricket in England and Wales from 2003. There exists a tremendous opportunity for new brands to become involved in the nation's number one summer sport."

© ECB