Middlesex have become the latest county to drop their limited-overs nickname, removing the ‘Panthers’ moniker with immediate effect.
The county’s List A and Twenty20 teams have been known as ‘Middlesex Panthers’ for five years and will now, like the first-class side, be called ‘Middlesex’.
Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Somerset and Surrey are among those to have done likewise in recent years.
A Middlesex statement read: “The club are keen to have one clear and consistent brand across all three domestic formats and will therefore now play under the unified banner of ‘Middlesex CCC’ in all competitions.”
Middlesex chief executive Vinny Codrington said: “When we launched our one-day ‘Panthers’ brand back in 2009, there was a strong desire for each of the counties to have a vibrant and dynamic one-day name and image, resulting in names such as the ‘Dragons’, ‘Sabres’, ‘Gladiators’ and ‘Lions’ to name but a few, and we ourselves subsequently became the Middlesex ‘Panthers’.
“A lot has changed in Middlesex cricket over the last five years and we at the county club have been and continue to work tirelessly with the Middlesex Cricket Board to engage with and immerse ourselves into the many cricket communities that reside within each of the 17 regional boroughs that populate the county of Middlesex.
“We therefore felt that one clear, consistent and immediately recognisable brand would offer greater clarity and assist us in terms of our awareness and recognition within and around the county and further afield as this work continues at pace.
“We are looking forward to being known now simply as ‘Middlesex CCC’, which to anyone in the game of cricket is a name that immediately invokes feelings of heritage, success and respect - values which we, as a club, pride ourselves on.”
One successful bi-product of the Middlesex’s five-year term as the ‘Panthers’ is the club’s mascot, Pinky the Panther, who will continue is his role.
Middlesex’s junior membership category for youngsters aged seventeen or below will remain unchanged and continue to be called ‘Panther membership’.