A new 50 over tournament began this week in county cricket, the Royal London One-Day Cup, as part of a wider agreement for the life and pensions firm to sponsor English cricket.

The deal is designed to raise the profile of the Royal London brand with intermediaries and customers. It will also provide hospitality opportunities for advisers and other distribution partners.

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Clare Salmon, group brand director of Royal London, said: "We are delighted to be ‎sponsoring one-day cricket in a variety of ways. Cricket is a very British sport, we are a very British company and we are pleased to be working in partnership with the ECB to help them develop one-day cricket at an international and domestic level.

"Our wide-ranging sponsorship allows us to get involved in everything from men's and women's one-day internationals to junior county cups."

She added: "We are particularly pleased to be supporting women's cricket as it increases its profile, and are also involved in promoting grassroots cricket as part of our sponsorship."

The competition runs from July 26 to September 20 when Lord's hosts the inaugural final of the competition.