Centre's cash boost

It guarantees the future of the Centre which was due to begin a three-day match with Yorkshire at Headingley yesterday but play had to be abandoned for the day because of continuous rain and a waterlogged ground.

John Stephenson, the MCC's newly-appointed head of cricket, visited Headingley yesterday and was able to confirm that Leeds-Bradford have been offered a further three years' of funding.

"The other five Centres in England and Wales have already signed up and we are just waiting for Leeds-Bradford Universities to confirm their acceptance," said Stephenson, the former Essex and Hampshire all-rounder.

Now that the Centre has moved its headquarters away from Bradford Park Avenue, it has become known officially as the Leeds Bradford Centre of Cricketing Excellence rather than Bradford appearing as the first city in its title, but several of its players continue to be attached either to Bradford University or Bradford College.

The MCC took over the funding of the Centres from the England and Wales Cricket Board at the beginning of this year and without their financial support the scheme, now in its fifth year, would probably have had to close down.

The ECB would almost certainly have stopped the funding, worth over £30,000 a year for each Centre, but Stephenson said the MCC were delighted with the progress that was being made this year.

"Already, Leeds Bradford have beaten Surrey at The Oval and Loughborough have defeated Worcestershire which shows that the money is being well spent," he added.

"If just one or two players from the Centres go on to play for their counties and possibly England it will be worthwhile."

Leeds-Bradford are playing all their home games at Harrogate this season while the pitches are settling in at their new headquarters at the Leeds University playing-field at Weetwood where coach Richard Horner now has his office.

Updated: 10:48 Thursday, June 02, 2005