The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) today announced the domestic first-class fixture list for the 2003 cricket season. For the first time since 1972, there will be no Benson & Hedges Cup competition, which has been replaced by a new 20-over tournament called the 'Twenty20 Cup'.

The Twenty20 Cup begins on Friday 13 June when five late-afternoon group matches are scheduled. One of these opening games will be broadcast live by Sky Sports.

All 45 group matches - the 18 first-class counties are split into three groups of six teams each - will be played over a 12-day period, thus intentionally scheduling the competition around the longest days of the year. This means that matches starting at 5.30pm will finish in daylight at 8.15pm. Essex and Sussex may stage floodlit Twenty20 Cup matches in the group stages, and the timings for any such matches will be confirmed in due course.

All counties are guaranteed a minimum of two Twenty20 Cup matches at home next season. The winners of each of the three groups and the best-performing runner-up will progress to a finals day on Saturday 19 July, at which both semi-finals and the final will be played.

Extensive media coverage of the competition is guaranteed. Sky Sports will broadcast a minimum of six group matches live as well as the three matches on finals day; Channel 4, meanwhile, will broadcast at least one match live (a Saturday morning slot on 14 June) and the highlights of the Final, plus prominent coverage of the competition in their weekly magazine programme. BBC Radio are planning extensive coverage on their regional and local stations in addition to live ball-by-ball coverage of the Twenty20 Cup Final on Radio Five Live and both Twenty20 Cup semi-finals on Five Live Extra.

A new prize money structure will be implemented to encourage both team victories and individual performances. The Twenty20 champions will receive £52,000, the runners-up will get £26,000 and the losing-semi-finalists £15,500 - equal to the prize money on offer for the 2002 Benson & Hedges Cup Final. Incentives will also be made to the best performing individuals with cash prizes of £1,500 going to the best performing batsmen, bowlers and all-rounders (see below for details).

Tim Lamb, Chief Executive of the ECB, said, "I have no doubt that the Twenty20 Cup will make a significant impact on our domestic cricket next summer. Thanks to excellent support from our broadcast partners, we can already guarantee a great deal of media coverage for the tournament. And with generous prize money on offer, the players have every incentive to go flat out to achieve success on the pitch. This is one of the most revolutionary and exciting initiatives undertaken by the ECB and the first-class counties for many years."

There are 367 matches, or 799 days of cricket in total, scheduled for first-class counties across four different competitions next season. The Frizzell County Championship season starts on Friday 18 April, the 45 over League competition (sponsor to be confirmed) begins on Sunday 27 April, while the third round of the Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy takes place on Wednesday 7 May.

The women's domestic season, meanwhile, will include the Super Fours trophy, now in its second year. The 48 best women's cricketers in the country will be divided into four teams and will compete against each other in six one-day matches ahead of the international season. Super Fours will run each weekend from Saturday 17th May to Sunday 15th June.

Yorkshire, meanwhile, will aim to retain their title in the Frizzell Women's County Championship which will run from Saturday 26th - Wednesday 30th July at University Grounds, Cambridge.

Twenty20 Prize Money 

Team awards                    
Winner (1 x £52,000)                £52,000
Runner-up (1 x £26,000)             £26,000
Losing Semi-Finalists (2 x £15,500) £31,000

Man-of-the-Match awards                    
Group Matches (45 x £300)           £13,500 
Semi-finalists (2 x £550)            £1,100  
Final (1 x £1,750)                   £1,750

Series awards                  
Batsman - most runs             (1 x £1,500)           
Batsman - 2nd most runs         (1 x £1,000)           
Batsman - most 4's & 6's        (1 x £1,500)           
Batsman - best strike rate      (1 x £1,500)           
All-rounder - best              (1 x £1,500)           
All-rounder - 2nd best          (1 x £1,000)           
Wicket keeper - best            (1 x £1,500)           
Bowler - most wickets           (1 x £1,500)           
Bowler - 2nd most wickets       (1 x £1,000)           
Bowler - fastest                (1 x £1,500)           
Bowler - best economy rate      (1 x £1,500)    15,000 
                       

Total:                             £140,350

© ECB