GRASS roots cricket in Worcestershire and Herefordshire will benefit by £26,000 thanks to the Worcestershire County League's new sponsorship deal.

The three-year deal with Crusader Sport and Leisure was officially launched at the league's cup final at Kidderminster's Chester Road ground.

The sponsorship with cricket and sports equipment suppliers Crusader, based in Grimley, is worth £15,000, and a tie-in with Sport England's 'Sportsmatch' grant aid scheme will earn the league an additional sum of around £11,000 over the three years.

It's the first time the league, now in its fifth season, has been sponsored, and the league is to use the money to aid cricket development at each of its 64 member clubs.

This will include offering discounted coach training courses, buying youth cricket equipment including bats, balls, matting and Kwik Cricket sets, and the purchase of three bowling machines which will be available to clubs on a rotational basis.

League administrator Alan Bayley said: "The money is a huge bonus for the league and we have decided to spend it on the clubs.

"We are absolutely delighted that a local company like Crusader would want to sponsor the league, with the added bonus that it is a cricket supplying company. We are an ideal partnership."