Slazenger today announced that it has extended its sponsorship with Yorkshire and England all-rounder Tim Bresnan.

Bresnan, an England international, is an outstanding fast-medium bowler but is also hugely respected for his ability with the bat. He earned his first international call-up in June 2006, when he was named in the England One Day International Squad to play Ireland and Sri Lanka. During that same year he also made his England Twenty20 debut against Sri Lanka at the Rose Bowl. Bresnan made his Test debut in May 2009 against the West Indies after being called-up to replace the injured Andrew Flintoff. It was in the Second Test Match against the West Indies that he really came to prominence, picking up three wickets, including his maiden wicket of Brendan Nash and then Denesh Ramdin two deliveries later. In October of this year Bresnan scored an impressive 80 runs in the ICC Champions Trophy against Australia.

Bresnan will endorse the V2 bat, part of Slazenger’s new 2010 cricket range. The V2, an all-rounder bat, delivers excellent playability for batsmen who love to play attacking shots and react in an instance.

Slazenger's Paul Collingwood and Matt Prior helped England to their series win over Bangladesh. Collingwood (75 not out) came in when England had a doube-wicket wobble, and he was there at the end with Matt Prior (30 not out) to see the side home by six wickets.

Click on the link below to see Cricket World discuss the new Slazenger cricket range for 2010 with Slazenger Ambassadors Paul Collingwood, Tim Bresnan and Alec Stewart. It's worth a look!

http://www.youtube.com/user/cwmstudioslimited#p/u/2/7Dij8aOH3ew 

Former England cricket captain Alec Stewart has been announced as an official brand ambassador for top cricketing brand Slazenger.

Stewart is the most capped English cricketer of all time, and played with Slazenger products throughout the majority of his career. Slazenger have recently released the new V Series range, used by current England stars Paul Collingwood, Liam Plunkett and Tim Bresnan, and Stewart will now become an official part of Slazenger’s impressive cricketing heritage.

Stewart’s career highlights include scoring a career best Test score of 190 for England against Pakistan in 1992; which was also his fourth century in five Tests.  As well as captaining his country, Stewart also became only the fourth player ever to score a century in his 100th Test, scoring 105 against the West Indies in 2000.

Sunny Singh, Sponsorship Manager for Slazenger said, “We are delighted to announce Alec as an official Slazenger ambassador. He is a cricketing legend in his own right and still remains one of the most influential figures in the game. Alec used Slazenger throughout his career and is a big supporter of our products, particularly the new V Series range”.

Stewart himself commented, “I’m very proud to be associated with Slazenger. They served me terrifically well throughout my playing career, and I would recommend the new range to all of the new generation of cricketing stars. Slazenger’s great reputation along with their focus on technology makes them the obvious choice for all cricketers.”

Slazenger's Jacques Kallis has been given a stand-in Captain role for South Africa's current tour in India. In the first one-day international in Jaipur, Kallis claimed a three-wicket haul as South Africa restricted India to a modest total of 298 for nine. Kallis was the pick of the bowlers with figures of three for 29 from seven overs.

Slazenger's Paul Collingwood  found top gear as he peppered the boundary on his way to a 74-ball 109 on Tuesday's victorious tour opener against a Bangladesh Board XI.

Slazenger's Paul Collingwood has been named England vice-captain for the Bangladesh tour - both the three-match one-day series against Bangladesh and the two-Test series after it. All-rounder Collingwood, 33, is also England's Twenty20 captain, a role he took up in May 2009. Andy Flower, the England team director, said appointing Colingwood was a 'simple cricketing decision'.

Slazenger's Jacques Kallis has been using his new V2 bat. The V2 is new for 2010 and offers an optimum balance of power and control for uncompromising all round performance. The lowered middle combined with balanced ‘pick up’ delivers excellent playability for batsmen who love to play attacking shots. Check out the batting page for more information on Kalis' V2!

Slazenger's Dale Steyn struck an immediate blow for South Africa this morning when he removed Strauss for a diamond duck. Strauss became the first England player since Stan Worthington in the Ashes series of 1936-7 to be dismissed by the first ball of a Test match. Well done Dale!

Slazenger's Matt Prior hit an unbeaten 52 on day 2 of the third test against South Africa just before the close of play. England are fighting to try and secure a first-innings lead after ending day two of the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town on 241-7 in their first innings.

Slazenger's Jacques Kallis hit his 33rd century in Tests as South Africa recovered from 127-5 to reach 279-6 on day one of the third Test against England. Kallis made a chanceless unbeaten 108, and featured in an 89-run stand with Mark Boucher (51) for the sixth wicket.

X-rays have shown Paul Collingwood did not break the index finger on his left hand during fielding practice at Kingsmead. The Durham batsman was struck whilst warming up before the start of the fourth day of the second Test of the series against South Africa.Although he has dislocated the joint, Collingwood should be able to bat if England need him in their second innings of the match.He had made 91 on day three, helping the tourists move ahead as they reached the close on 386-5, giving them a lead of 43.Collingwood looked well set to reach his 10th Test ton before being dismissed for a fourth time in the 90s. Paul has made a huge contribution to the England team and we hope his injury clears up in time for more frst rate performances in South Africa.

The third test of the series against South Africa begins on January 3rd in Cape Town.

Slazenger's Paul Collingwood put in a ballsy performance to help England to a draw in the first test against South Africa. Collingwood's 26 not out from 99 balls was a magnificent effort and vital to England's draw. During the evening session England looked like they were heading for defeat but they were indebted once again to the fighting qualities of Collingwood.

Slazenger's Paul Collingwood reaches a half century on day three of the first test against South Africa. This is his 17th half century in Test cricket - well done Colly!

Jacques Kallis, in his first game since breaking a rib, hit a terrific unbeaten 112 and his unbroken stand of 103 with JP Duminy (38) gave the hosts the edge against England. This is Kallis' 32nd Test century - his fourth Test ton at Centurion and sixth against Enlgand. Kallis' 112 not out saw the Proteas reach 262/4 by the close.

Paul Collingwood was named man of the series for his all-round performances in the ODI series against South Africa, scoring 275 runs and claiming five wickets in an impressive international renaissance.

You can now join the Slazenger Team on Facebook for latest updates and sneak previews!

Here's the link: http://www.facebook.com/#/pages/Slazenger/164751943426?ref=ts

Slazenger ambassador Paul Collingwood celebrated his record breaking 171^st ODI cap in fantastic style yesterday with an unbeaten 105, his fifth century at this level to guide England to their sixth straight victory over South Africa by seven wickets with four overs to spare.

Slazenger brand ambassadors, Paul Collingwood, Matt Prior and Tim Bresnan are using the new 2010 Slazenger bats while on tour in South Africa. The range is brand new for 2010 and features the V1, V2 and V3 series. Collingwood is using the V1, a lightweight bat for destructive precision. The V2, an all rounder bat is used by Tim Bresnan, while Matt Prior is using the V3 bat for supreme power. The full 2010 range will be showcased on the Slazenger website before the end of the year.

Slazenger are pleased to announce that Daniel Vettori, the New Zealand Cricket Captain has signed on to exclusively use and promote the Slazenger range of equipment and apparel.

Daniel Vettori now becomes part of the interna­tional stable of Slazenger ambassadors including Michael Clarke, Paul Collingwood, Matt Prior and Jacques Kallis.

Daniel is the youngest player to have represented New Zealand in Test cricket, having made his debut in 1996/1997 at the age of 18 years old. Vettori made his first appearance at Wellington for New Zealand, against England, on 6 February 1997. His first Test wicket was that of Nassar Hussain.

Daniel took his 200th Test wicket in Zimbabwe in 2005, becoming only the third New Zealand bowler to pass that mark and he is currently New Zea­land’s leading ODI wicket-taker.

As of 10 March 2008, Vettori was ranked 1st on the ICC Players Rankings for One Day bowlers and ranked 2nd and 10th for Test and One Day all-rounders respectively.

Daniel has chosen to play with the Hyper Blade series bat range. The Hyper Blade’s long high mid­dle has been developed for exaggerated performance whilst driving.

Top Australian cricketer Michael Clarke yesterday helped secure Australia a draw in the third test of the 2009 npower Ashes Series scoring his second century of the series. Clarke once again proved the biggest obstacle for England to shift with a fine innings of 103no and claimed the Man of the Match award.

Michael Clarke has been in superb form during the series, having made 352 runs, and backed up his 136 in the fourth innings at Lord’s with his 12^th Test century on Monday. Together with Marcus North (96) the pair put on 185 for the fifth-wicket, a new national record. The result left the home side holding a 1-0 lead with two matches to play with the fourth Test staring at Headingly on Friday.

Sunny Singh, Sponsorship manager for Slazenger commenting on the announcement stated: ‘Michael Clarke’s form throughout the Ashes Series so far has been fantastic and he is an excellent ambassador for Slazenger. We are delighted to be supporting with such a talented player and look forward to seeing him in action throughout the rest of the Ashes Series’. 

Michael Clarke uses the Oz-Blade Slazenger bat (uniquely available in Australia).

On the final day of the first Ashes test England came out to bat on 20-2, 219 runs short of Australia's first innings total- 674. England nervously went on to lose a further 3 wickets in 90 minutes, but Slazengers Paul Collingwood batted for five hours and 43 minutes facing 245 balls and scored a valiant 74 runs. Collingwood eventually lost his wicket 6 runs short of Australia's score and it looked as though Australia would win the 1st Test but England's last-wicket pair of Anderson and Panesar defied Australia for 40 minutes to clinch a draw in the first Ashes Test.

International cricket equipment manufacturers ‘Dunlop Slazenger’ have teamed up with Dalton Cricket Club to provide their U’15 player Greg Hurst with an adapted pair of batting gloves, which Dalton coach, Dave Halsey is seen handing over to Greg, prior to their last U15 league match.

Dunlop Slazenger were the only major manufacturer to take up the challenge, so Greg and Dalton Cricket Club would like to express their sincere thanks to the company. “Their willingness, communication and sensitivity have been exemplary” said Dave.

The gloves arrived on the same day as the match above, so Greg was not only able to use the gloves, but also help his side to their first victory of the season.

Dalton Cricket Club’s website can be found at www.daltoncc.co.uk

Slazengers Paul Collingwood and Matt Prior have set the standard for the England team in the first npower Ashes test, reaching an impressive 64

England got off to a tentative start on the first day of the 2009 Ashes when they were reduced early on to 90-3 but a 138-run stand between Kevin Pietersen (69) and Slazengers Paul Collingwood (64) saw them steady the nervous start.

But soon after tea both Collingwood and Pietersen were dismissed which saw Slazengers Matt Prior take to the crease and hit 56 off 62 balls before being bowled shortly before the end of play on the first day.

England impressive first innings total of 435 sets up an exciting first Ashes test at the Cardiff SWALEC stadium.  

Slazenger brand ambassadors and England cricketers Matt Prior and Paul Collingwood took time out of their busy training schedules in the run up to the nPower Ashes Series to take part in a training session run by the Chance to Shine Training initiative. The Chance to Shine campaign aims to bring competitive cricket - and its educational benefits back to young people through inspiring coaching, provisions of equipment and training.

Matt Prior and Paul Collingwood spent a morning in Edgbaston with young people from the local area training them in the rudiments of cricket. Batting, bowling and fielding with the England cricket stars, the teenagers truly embodied the aims of the Chance to Shine initiative getting into the cricketing spirit! So much so in fact, that at one point decked out in Prior and Collingwood masks it was hard to tell who were the pros and who were the kids!

Pakistan were crowned ICC World Twenty20 champions after an exhilarating finish at Lord’s yesterday.  Shahid Afridi inspired Pakistan to glory as Sri Lanka’s total of 138-6 was overhauled with eight balls remaining.

The win marks a stunning turnaround for Pakistan after they lost two of their first three matches and required a win against the Netherlands to even secure their place in the last eight.

Pakistan made a dream start with teenage sensation Mohaammad Aamer bowling a wicket-maiden.  It was a significant moment as it meant the tournament’s leading run-scorer Dilshan was dismissed. It was a blow that Sri Lanka never recovered from as a Shahid Afridi inspired Pakistan roared to victory.

Sunny Singh, Sponsorship manager for Slazenger comments: “Pakistan put their early defeats behind them and thoroughly deserved their victory.  They were viewed as tournament outsiders but emphatically defied their critics and deserve all the accolades coming their way”.

Tim Bresnan helped seal a thrilling last-ball victory in yesterdays Twenty20 game against Durham.

Bresnan, who has recently committed himself to Yorkshire for three more years, rescued his side from another batting collapse with an unbeaten 19 from 16 balls. The winning single came as Bresnan scrambled over the line following a misfield from Durham's Dale Benkenstein, which allowed new batsman Deon Kruis a precious single.

Paul Collingwood was made stand in wicket keeper yesterday during England's second test match against the West Indies at Durham. The move came after fellow Slazenger player Matt Prior injured his finger taking a ball from Tim Bresnan.

After already making a not out 60 with the bat Collingwood then took his first catch as wicket keeper clinging on to an outside edge from Chanderpaul.

Slazenger Brand ambassador Tim Bresnan made his dream debut for England as he stepped out on the pitch for the first test against the West Indies at Lord's. The Yorkshire all-rounder started his career at an early age, making his Yorkshire first team-debut when he was just 16. He was picked for the England one-day team in 2006 and has played five one-day internationals.

Bresnan uses the Slazenger Air Blade which is currently available in the 2009 range. The bat has been developed for the player who demands ultra lightweight blades, but with destructive performance.

Sunny Singh, Sponsorship manager for Slazenger commented: "It's great Tim made his debut at Lord's, he is one of Slazenger's up and coming stars, i'm sure we'll be seeing much more of him in the future!".