It could be said New Zealand Cricket got itself into quite a 'State' today.

The worst-kept secret in New Zealand sport is out today, State Insurance has become the sponsor of domestic cricket.

It will have naming rights for four competitions, State Max, the State Championship which is the men's four-day competition, the State Shield which is the men's one-day competition and the State League which is the women's one-day competition.

All of New Zealand's major associations are also under the State banner now that Canterbury has joined.

Teams will be known as: (Men's) State Auckland Aces, State Northern Knights, State Central Stags, State Wellington Firebirds, State Canterbury Wizards, State Otago Volts; (Women's) State Auckland Hearts, State Northern Spirit, State Central Hinds, State Wellington Blaze, State Canterbury Magicians, State Otago Sparks.

New Zealand Cricket chief executive Martin Snedden said the sponsorship would give a much-needed fillip to the domestic game at its top level.

"For the past five years New Zealand Cricket has concentrated much of its effort on strengthening the elite level of the game and appropriately resourcing the CLEAR Black Caps and CLEAR White Ferns.

"This investment has paid off with the winning of the ICC KnockOut and CricInfo Women's World Cup respectively.

"However, it is now time to focus on revitalising the domestic game," he said.

The sponsorship would allow NZC to provide a comprehensive domestic programme which was the key to producing strong international teams.

"It is interesting to note that there has been significant improvement in the standard of the women's game since the sponsorship of State allowed the introduction of a national league three summers ago," Snedden said.

"Strengthening our senior men's domestic cricket competitions is an immediate priority for NZC."

State's chief executive David Smith said domestic cricket helped New Zealand's largest insurer to reinforce its presence in communities nationwide through a direct association with the premier sport for both men and women.

"It gives us the opportunity to support and develop up and coming young talent throughout the regions where we've always had a strong presence and loyal customer base," he said.

© CricInfo