The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has announced a 150 per cent increase in the amount of prize money available for domestic cricket next season.

As a result of the ECB's cash injection, the winners of the 2009 Liverpool Victoria County Championship (LVCC) will receive £500,000, compared to the previous total of £100,000 awarded to 2008 champions, Durham. The total prize money and reward payments for the LVCC will increase to just over £1m, with the runners-up receiving £225,000, £175,000 of which will go towards the players. There will also be increases in the prize money for the winners of the Pro40 competition and the Friends Provident Trophy tournament.

David Collier, ECB chief executive, said: "The ECB board strongly believes that it was important to increase the prize fund available to all competitions on the back of the rise of the opportunities provided by Twenty20 cricket, and we were particularly anxious to increase the money that was available for the winners of the LVCC. "These increases reward both players and counties, and in a difficult economic climate, demonstrate the strength of cricket and our confidence in the domestic game."