Following Russel Arnold’s excellent performance at the Old Trafford Test match against England, where he scored 62 and 109, The Woodworm Cricket Company - www.woodworm.tv - has today announced that Arnold will be the first international cricketer to use their revolutionary new Wand bat.

Arnold used the new bat in recent one-day games against Somerset and Gloucester, scoring 14 not out and 80. "I’m delighted to be associated with this cutting edge product and I’m looking forward to scoring a lot of runs with the Wand in the NatWest series," he said.

Joe Sillett, Managing Director of Woodworm, added, "Russel is a very exciting player and The Wand will be well suited to his game. With the new weight re-distribution, the bat picks up brilliantly, allowing good bat speed and increased control, whilst also giving you more wood to strike with."

Back in August 2001, Joe Sillett and his father Bob began re-shaping an old cricket bat riddled with woodworm. The result was the first ever Wand. Convinced that the bat offered something unique, Joe used it in a club game and scored 142 not out.

Believing that cricket was in need of a breath of fresh air, he took the prototype bat to three major international bat manufacturers, all of whom wanted to buy the concept and pay a royalty. Instead, he founded The Woodworm Cricket Company. Its core ethos is innovation with the aim of bringing the magic of cricket to as many people as possible.

Having gained the full approval from all cricketing authorities for the newly shaped bat, he then approached the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) with the offer of putting money back into grass roots and junior cricket. As part of this sponsorship deal with the ECB, the new Woodworm bats are available at all major Test venues.

As part of Woodworm’s commitment to take the excitement of cricket into all areas, the Woodworm Cricket Company recently became the first bat manufacturer to sponsor a Ladies side when they signed a one-year deal with the Lancashire Ladies team.

ABOUT CRICINFO LIMITED

Following the recent launch of the Woodworm Cricket Company on CricInfo, the company has facilitated a deal whereby Russel has become the first international player to use the Wand bat.

CricInfo Limited is the world's leading digital cricket information company. CricInfo's web site, www.cricinfo.com, is the most popular cricket site in the world and is among the internet's most popular sports sites, estimated to reach more than fifteen million fans in 180 countries. 2001 was CricInfo’s most successful year in terms of page impressions, registering in excess of 1.5 billion, and reaching 3 billion since it’s inception in 1993. It regularly generates in excess of 150 million page views a month.

CricInfo has its Head Office in the UK, with regional offices in Australia, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and South Africa. Satyam Infoway Limited (NASDAQ: SIFY), India's leading internet services and e-commerce company owns a 25% stake in CricInfo.

CricInfo works with cricket boards and sponsors, blue chip companies and the media to deliver cricket content for a wide range of different platforms. It currently produces official websites for eight of the ten Test-playing countries, for the ICC and for a number of domestic teams worldwide.