Editing Pro40 (section)

==Sunday League==
The Sunday League was launched in 1969, as the second one-day competition in England and Wales alongside the [[Friends Provident Trophy|Gillette Cup]] (launched in 1963). Sponsored by [[John Player & Sons]], the league was called '''John Player's County League''' (1969), the '''John Player League''' (1970–83), then the '''John Player Special League''' (1984–86). The 17 counties of the time played each other in a league format on Sunday afternoons throughout the season. These matches were concise enough to be shown on television, with [[BBC Two|BBC2]] broadcasting one match each week in full until 1980, and then as part of the ''[[Grandstand (TV series)|Sunday Grandstand]]'' multi-sport programme. For close finishes for the title, cameras appeared at the grounds where the contenders for the title were competing and the trophy presentation to the victorious team would be on film.

[[Refuge Assurance Company|Refuge Assurance]] replaced John Player Special as the sponsor of the competition, called the '''Refuge Assurance League''', in 1987. In 1988 they introduced an end-of-season play-off competition known as the '''Refuge Assurance Cup'''. The top four teams of the league season qualified for this competition, with the first-placed team playing the fourth and the second-placed team playing the third, and the winners of these matches meeting in a final at a [[Home advantage#Neutral venues|neutral venue]]. This competition lasted until 1991.

On Friday 5 July 1991, [[Somerset County Cricket Club|Somerset]] played [[Lancashire County Cricket Club|Lancashire]] at [[County Ground, Taunton|Taunton]] in the first Sunday League match not to be played on a Sunday.<ref>Benson and Hedges Cricket Year September 1990 to September 1991 (p. 325)</ref>

The Sunday League was not sponsored in 1992 ([[Durham County Cricket Club|Durham]] making its debut in the competition this season), but in 1993 [[AXA|AXA Equity and Law]] became the sponsor. The matches this season were 50 overs per innings. The first round of matches that took place on 9 May 1993 were the first official matches in England to be played in coloured clothing and with a white ball. The following season the competition reverted to 40 overs per innings. On Wednesday 23 July 1997 [[Warwickshire County Cricket Club|Warwickshire]] played Somerset at [[Edgbaston Cricket Ground|Edgbaston]] in the first competitive county game to be played under floodlights.<ref>[http://usa.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1997/ENG_LOCAL/SUNLG/R14/WARWICKS_SOMERSET_SUNLG_23JUL1997_MR Warwickshire v Somerset July 1997 – Electronic Telegraph]</ref>