ESPN Star Sport, the Asian broadcasters, have paid more than £570 million for commercial and marketing rights for 10 years for the new Twenty20 Champions League.

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The event begins on Dec 3, with £3.4 million prize money on offer for the eight teams, including Middlesex, though the venue has yet to be decided. The tournament will feature two teams from Australia, India and South Africa, plus England Twenty20 champions Middlesex and Pakistan champions Sialkot.

The Australian, Indian and South African boards will jointly organise the Champions League and plan to expand the field to 12 teams next year. "This makes the Twenty20 Champions League the highest value cricket event on a per game basis," said organisers.

CHARLIE SAYS: The national flavour of the Champions League has a definite attraction, and I wonder if, within a couple of years, the Indian Premier League might seem little more than a gaudy sideshow. I doubt if many cricket followers in the UK and other non-Asian countries cared much about this year's IPL or even knew that Rajasthan Royals, from Jaipur, became champions.