The newly-created English Premier League will begin in July 2010 after the ECB confirmed the details of the tournament on Wednesday.

The ECB have released the details of the new league they hope will rival the Indian Premier League and being in more interest and money to the country that invented the shortest format of the game.

There will be two divisions of 10 teams which will comprise the 18 counties plus two overseas teams.

The ECB rejected a controversial and radical proposal by David Stewart and Keith Bradshaw which would have left out half of the counties.

The Pro40 will be scrapped after 2009, allowing for a total overhaul of club cricket in England.

The vast money and popularity surrounding the newly-formed Indian Premier League has forced the ECB to look long and hard at the current game in England and a new Twenty20 format has been deemed the best way forward.

Early talk of leaving out half of the counties has been rejected and now the big question surrounds the indentities of the two new teams to be invited into the tournament.

"I am delighted that the board unanimously supported these creative proposals and I would like to congratulate everyone for their hard work and thank those who went to considerable time and trouble to produce documents for discussion," said ECB chairman Giles Clarke.

"We have already received enormous broadcast and sponsor interest from around the world which was reported to the Board by the chief executive David Collier."

Each one of the overseas teams will play in one of the divisions, with games played on Friday nights of the tournament - which will also act as the qualifying tournament for the lucrative Champions League.