Warwickshire have today announced that throughout the newly-unveiled 2014 NatWest T20 Blast competition they will be known as Birmingham Bears.
The county feel the move will help them forge greater links with the community in the city of their Edgbaston home.
They will still compete under the name Warwickshire for the LV= County Championship and Warwickshire Bears for the Royal London One-Day Cup.
Chief executive Colin Povey said: “Birmingham and Edgbaston has been the club’s home since 1886 and we believe that adopting the Birmingham Bears name for the NatWest T20 Blast presents a great opportunity for us to engage even more closely with fans living and working at the heart of the city.
“Asian families, business men and women working in the city’s commercial districts and local cricket clubs are three particular audiences the club is seeking to work with more next season.
“T20 games in 2014 will predominantly be played on Friday evenings, so this fixed slot gives supporters a time that we hope will be associated with the Birmingham Bears; similar to Saturday afternoon football or rugby.
“However, despite our T20 name change, we will continue to maintain the proud history of the club and play under the Warwickshire banner in the other two more traditional formats.”
Birmingham Bears play seven games at Edgbaston in the NatWest T20 Blast, with five matches scheduled on Friday evenings, and they begin their campaign at home to Yorkshire Vikings on Friday 23rd May.