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The Cigarette Company of Jamaica created local cricket history yesterday when it announced the largest single company sponsorship of the sport at the Courtleigh Hotel.

Through the brand Rothmans, the company will sponsor the Senior Cup competition and the National Championship to the tune of $2 million.

In making the announcement, sales and promotions manager of the Cigarette Company, Peter Green, said his company was pleased to play its part in the development of local cricket.

``We are pleased to be a part of this venture,'' Green said.

``With the present debacle on the tour of South Africa and cricket increasingly competing with other sports like football and basketball for sponsorship dollars it is important that cricket continue to attract local and regional support, otherwise I would hate to think what might happen to the game,'' he said.

Last year, there was no sponsorship of the Senior Cup played by Surrey teams Boys' Town, Portland, Kensington, Police, St. Catherine Cricket Club, Kingston, the Jamaica Defence Force, Melbourne, St. Thomas and Tivoli.

This year, the Senior Cup will be played in the three counties, Surrey, Middlesex (Clarendon, St. Ann, St. Catherine Parish, Manchester) and Cornwall (Trelawny, Hanover, St. Elizabeth and St. James).

The winner of the Surrey Senior Cup will receive $40,000. The Middlesex and Cornwall winners will get $30,000 each.

The winners of each County will then advance to the finals of the National Cricket Championship with two (the winning teams from the Surrey and Cornwall competitions) playing in a semi-final. The winning team from Middlesex has been given a bye to the final by virtue of a draw done at the press conference.

A cash award of $100,000 will go to the winner of the National Cricket Championship, twice the amount allotted to the runner-up.

In addition, the man of the round for each county in the Senior Cup will get $1000, the man of the semi-final $3,000 and the man of the final $5,000.

The Senior Cup starts on Saturday.