Worcestershire will host the official launch of the 2015 LV = County Championship at New Road today (Wednesday) on the eve of the new domestic season getting underway.
Gordon Hollins, the ECB’s Chief Operating Officer, explained the decision to launch the 125-year-old competition in Worcestershire, as the county celebrate their 150th anniversary.
He said: "“Worcester is a classic county venue, and the club’s progress in earning promotion on the field and developing their business off it was rewarded at our Business of Cricket Awards during the winter, when they were nominated in five categories and received the County Recognition Award.
“So there could be no better place to look ahead to another fascinating county season, which begins with the first round of LV= County Championship fixtures on April 12th – and the visit of the champions, Yorkshire, to New Road.
“We continue to support the competition in a range of ways, helping to fund the BBC’s ball-by-ball radio commentaries which will be made available on tablets and mobile handsets for the first time this season – and also wider media coverage as part of an expanded match-reporting service which will be freely available to regional and national media.
“We are delighted to have Mark Butcher as the ambassador for an improved package of video highlights, supported by LV= and available through our own website and those of the counties. There were more than 525,000 views of the highlights last season on the county ePlayer syndication channel alone.
“Finally, while celebrating the present and future of the Championship, we should also recognise its history as an intrinsic part of the sporting summer, and ECB is pleased to support the publication of an excellent new book by the cricket historian Stephen Chalke marking the competition’s 125th anniversary.”
The opening round of LV= County Championship fixtures starts on Sunday April 12 and features:
Division One – Hampshire v Sussex, Middlesex v Nottinghamshire, Somerset v Durham, Worcestershire v Yorkshire.
Division Two – Leicestershire v Glamorgan, Northamptonshire v Gloucestershire.
