Southern Electric, the region’s ECB Premier Cricket League sponsor, have announced the renewal of their sponsorship agreement for a further five years, making it one of the longest-running sponsorship associations within cricket 15 years in total.
Since the Southern Electric Premier Cricket League was launched in 2001, it has helped bridge the gap between club and county cricket, providing high quality, top-class club competition throughout the region. With Southern Electric’s support, its future is guaranteed until at least the 2014 season.
Backed by Southern Electric’s funding, the Premier League has gone from strength to strength. A good example of this is the many improvements made to grounds and facilities throughout the region that have come from its Development Trust Fund.   Initiated in the mid-1990s, almost 200 projects have been funded to the tune of £130,000, with artificial non-turf pitches, practice nets and electronic scoreboards being provided at numerous grounds across the area. The Fund provides an incentive for clubs to improve and attain specific standards of facilities and coaching with the emphasis on young cricketers.
The Premier League’s own Twenty20 knockout competition the Southern Electric Cup, enjoys the unique privilege of having a floodlit final under the state-of-the-art floodlights at the Hampshire Rose Bowl.  Twice in the past three seasons, Southern Electric Cup winners, Totton & Eling (2007) and Bournemouth (in 2009) have gone on to become national Twenty20 champions.

The Southern Electric Premier League is one of the few ECB Leagues to include a county academy side in its ranks. The number of talented youngsters graduating from the Hampshire Academy, through the Premier League and into county and international age-group cricket continues to rise.
Southern Electric Sponsorship Manager, Huw Lock said, “We are delighted our sponsorship funding helps to deliver improvements and encourages more players and youngsters to take up the game. Our sponsorship programme is designed to put something back into the communities we serve.
“We read meters in every town and village in Hampshire; we check power cables throughout the county and our customer service call centres make contact with homes across the region on a daily basis.  It is therefore fitting that we continue to support the Premier League and the surrounding community through our sponsorship programme.”
 Paul Thompson, Premier Cricket League Chairman added, “In the first ten years, a quality non-professional Premier Cricket League has been delivered, that in many respects has set the bench mark for others in the country to follow.
“It is right to thank Southern Electric for their support over this period. Without this support, many of the club and ground developments applied across our communities would not have happened. We look forward to maintaining and further developing our close ties with them in the future to provide mutual benefits to both parties.”