The England and Wales Cricket Board has announced a major long-term partnership with LV= General Insurance (LV=GI) across international and county red-ball cricket.

The deal sees LV= GI become Official Title Partner of Men’s and Women’s Test Cricket in England & Wales, and the Men’s County Championship, until the end of 2023.

From today, tickets go on general sale for the first LV= Insurance Test Series, which will see Joe Root’s team take on India at Trent bridge from Wednesday 4 to Sunday 8 August..

The LV= Insurance County Championship will get underway on April 8 in a remodelled three-group format as agreed by the 18 first-class counties to help mitigate against the possible impact of Covid-19.

This new partnership expands LV= GI’s commitment to cricket in England and Wales following the recent launch of the £1million #Funds4Runs initiative – jointly funded with the ECB – which is helping those recreational cricket communities most impacted by the pandemic recover financially.

#Funds4Runs was launched in November 2020 and focuses on the main areas where access to cricket support or cricket itself has been limited, including  children from deprived backgrounds, diverse communities, disability groups and women and girls’ programmes.

The initiative, and LV= GI’s support, will also help deliver against three wider ECB objectives – delivering the purpose of ‘connecting communities and improving lives’ through cricket, increasing the relevance of cricket locally and growing long-term engagement with the game in these communities.

Financial support from the initiative will be accessible to affiliated clubs, All Stars cricket centres, Community organisations, County Cricket Boards and Cricket Wales. Interested parties can register their interest in #Funds4Runs funding at ecb.co.uk/funds4runs or find more information at lv.com/gi/cricket.

The partnership marks a return to professional cricket in England and Wales for LV= GI, which has a longstanding heritage and association with the sport. LV= GI’s involvement dates back almost 20 years to 2002 and includes three separate stints as title partner of the County Championship – most recently from 2007-15 as the LV= County Championship.

Tickets for this summer’s LV= Insurance Test Series against India have been highly sought after, with many fans already snapping up tickets through venue ballots and by rolling over their tickets from last summer. LV= GI will also be giving cricket fans the chance to win tickets through competitions and money-can’t-by experiences.

“LV= has a long and proud history of supporting cricket and their return as a partner will benefit all levels of our game. The strength of our partnerships are vital and in LV= I know we have a partner that shares our ambition to support the growth of cricket from grassroots to our England teams," said Tom Harrison, ECB Chief Executive Officer.

“Today’s announcement is great news for domestic and international cricket and builds on the £1million #Funds4Fund community initiative that we have jointly made with LV= to support areas of the recreational game hardest hit by COVID-19.

“We are excited about the prospect of a summer of cricket that will feature the return of the LV= Insurance County Championship as well as a highly-anticipated LV= Insurance Test Series against India. We know how much our fans are looking forward to a summer of cricket and we continue to work closely with Government and plan for how we can safely welcome supporters back to our venues.”

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Tickets for England's return to Trent Bridge this year are on sale now, with the home nation welcoming India for an LV=Insurance Test Match and Pakistan for a Vitality IT20. Secure your spot for our splendid international summer below.