cricket+Club'>Warwickshire County Cricket Club has announced a new three-year official kit supplier partnership with PlayerLayer, which will see the development of a more sustainable kit, made with materials derived from bamboo.

Billed as a first for professional cricket, the material in the shirts and sweaters worn by Warwickshire in the Royal London Cup and by Birmingham Bears in the Vitality Blast will be made from a blend of bamboo, charcoal and polyester.

Designed to significantly reduce the use of plastic in sport, the new material and its capabilities was first showcased last year with PlayerLayers partnership with Forest Green Rovers, which is recognised by both FIFA and UEFA as the world's greenest football club.

"We have talked about our ambitions to be the most sustainable cricket club and venue in the country and working with PlayerLayer to create our new bamboo kits takes us a step closer to this goal," said Ben Seifas, commercial partnerships manager at Warwickshire CCC.

"As part of the development, several members of our playing squad have tested the material to highlight its capabilities in a high-performance environment, with all subsequent feedback confirming that it is a very comfortable and durable material.

“PlayerLayer has been an excellent partner of the club for the last three years and we’re grateful to its team for joining forces with ourselves to be leaders in cricket by creating this new material."

The design for the full kit with new sponsors is set to be unveiled later this year, closer to the 2020 season, if it goes ahead.

In addition to the player's kit, the replica shirts, which fans will be able to buy at the Store 94 club shop at Edgbaston, will be made from the same bamboo material.

Roderick Bradley, co-founder and marketing director at PlayerLater said: "The Warwickshire CCC Bamboo project is extremely important to us. We believe that sport can drive change and this is a perfect example.

“Warwickshire CCC has a global reach and will show how cricket can send a message far beyond sport. This project is just the start of things to come with our partnership.”