Twenty20 star Brendon McCullum has welcomed the new eight-team Champions League to be held later this year.

New Zealand's hard-hitting wicketkeeper-batsman, who was one of the stars of the inaugural Indian Premier League tournament this year, believes the expansion of the format was the inevitable next step after its success throughout the world.

The two finalists of this summer's Twenty20 Cup will join two teams from India, Australia and South Africa in a tournament which will earn a £2.5million jackpot for the winners - a huge increase in prize money from the £1million which was first suggested.

A venue for the competition has yet to be finalised, but both the Middle East and India have been suggested, and McCullum enthused: "It sounds like a pretty good idea to me.

"I don't know the ins and outs of it but any sort of tournament that can generate the incomes, profile and fan-base they are doing has to be good for the game.

"As long as they continue to get the best players out there in a competitive environment wanting to do well and wanting to perform, I'm sure the tournament will be a success."

He added: "It would be great to have a Champions League like they do in football and have the hype around it - it will be great for the game to have that sort of following."

England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Giles Clarke and chief executive David Collier have been in discussion with their international counterparts this week.

The 15 matches over a 10-day period will take place immediately after the end of the Champions Trophy in Pakistan, which concludes on September 28.

Shane Warne's IPL champions Rajasthan Royals and runners-up Chennai Super Kings will be joined by Victoria, Western Australia, the Titans of Pretoria, and KwaZulu-Natal Dolphins.

"We're extremely grateful to our great friends from Australia, India and South Africa for their hard work and determination to get this tournament off the ground," said Clarke.

"The ECB Twenty20 Cup will be even more fiercely contested this season in the knowledge that the two teams who reach the final will qualify for the Champions League and the chance to win 5million US dollars."

England seamer Stuart Broad, who won the Twenty20 Cup with Leicestershire in 2006, also welcomed the announcement and said: "It sounds an interesting concept and certainly an incentive for domestic sides to take Twenty20 seriously and develop their skills and players, which can only help the international scene.

"It will make it even more exciting with the finals day and the prospect of getting into the Champions League. Winning the Twenty20 Cup is a fantastic achievement but if there's a chance to go to India and play in the Champions League, every side in the country will be vying for that and it can only improve the standard."

But he was also cautious that the vast riches on offer to counties in the Champions League may change their emphasis away from the County Championship - traditionally the blue riband event of the domestic scene - to Twenty20 cricket.

"I've always thought that Championship cricket is the most important form of the game because it develops players into Test cricketers and to play Test cricket is the ultimate for any cricketer," he said.

"But if there is prize money of £2.5million on offer for the Champions League that would obviously change the balance slightly.

"Whenever players go out onto the field they are looking to win the game whether that's a four-day match or Twenty20 match but obviously there's quite a big incentive now to get to the Twenty20 finals day."

This year's finals day, which incorporates both semi-finals and the final, will be held at the Rose Bowl in Hampshire on August 26 with the two finalists going through to the Champions League.

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