The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) will receive nearly £11m in funding from the Lottery from April 2006 until the end of March 2009.

The £10.7m award has been made by Sport England and is to support the development of cricket through the ECB's objectives from its Building Partnerships business plan.

Chief executive of Sport England, Roger Draper, said: "Cricket is currently on a huge high following last summer's Ashes success and has a fantastic opportunity to capitalise and build on unprecedented levels of public popularity."

David Collier, chief executive of the ECB, welcomed the announcement: "It has been the ECB's desire for a number of years to move towards a multi-year commitment of public funding, in order that our clubs and county boards can provide sustainable programmes.

“This funding is an important start in an increased involvement and commitment from government and the Lottery, which cricket needs to provide facilities to sustain the long-term expansion of the game.” Details: www.sportengland.org