Long term sponsors Castle Lager have now been joined by cellphone giants MTN in a partnership that will secure the future of Test match cricket in South Africa for the next six years.

The R 102,000,000.00 co-sponsorship will be broken down into two main components:

* sponsorship of all three-, four- and five-day games involving the South African team, with an obvious emphasis on home Test matches;

* and sponsorship of the National Test team.

Castle Lager, who have supported South African Test cricket since the 1992/93 season, welcomed MTN as partners.

"Castle Lager's sponsorship of South African Test cricket has been very rewarding," said South African Breweries' Marketing Director Tony van Kralingen. "We are excited to have MTN on board and are confident that together we can help cricket build on the formidable platform that has been laid down by Castle Lager over a number of years.

For MTN, Group Chief Executive, Bob Chaphe said: "We've been involved in cricket for some time now, from the most modest developmental levels upwards. However, we now want to raise our profile considerably and for that reason have elected to join South African Breweries in co-sponsorship of Test cricket and the national team.

United Cricket Board President Ray White said the co-sponsorship underlined the continued importance of Test cricket. "AII cricketers see Test cricket as the highest form of the game, the epitome of excellence in cricket," he said. "Ask any international player and he will tell you that at the end of his career his Test averages will provide the measurement of his achievements in the game. Clearly, both Castle Lager and MTN also believe this to be the case."

And as far as value for money is concerned, UCB Managing Director Ali Bacher pointed out that South Africa are scheduled to play 31 Test matches over the next three years. Bacher attended an International Cricket Council meeting in Dubai last week at which a 10-year Test-match schedule was discussed.

It has been proposed that all the Test-playing countries meeting each other for a minimum of three Tests during a five-year cycle. "Cricket's annual budget is in excess of R100-million," he said. "Castle Lager's support over the past seven years has been magnificent and now with MTN as co-sponsors, we can all move into the millennium together."

Bacher also confirmed that 20 percent of gate receipts from this summer's Tests would be ploughed back into development. He said that 225 000 spectators had attended last season's Test series against the West Indies and that 300 000 were expected for the series against England