A cricket club has drawn stumps on a sponsorship deal with a sex shop chain after they were threatened with expulsion from their league.
Southport Trinity Cricket Club had already produced shirts displaying the logo of Nice'n'Naughty in time for the start of the season on Saturday.
But it was forced to bin the shirts and refund the cash after the Liverpool and District League's threat.
A spokeswoman for the English Cricket Board said it was investigating.
'Seedy shops'
Chairman Colin Maxwell said: "Obviously, we knew that Nice'n'Naughty is not to everybody's taste, but we didn't realise it would cause this much of a problem.
"We are living in 2006, it's not like the old days when these shops were seedy, back street affairs."
Mr Maxwell, who said the club had lost £1,000, claimed the league had already approved the deal but backtracked after pressure from the ECB.
He added: "Other teams in the league are sponsored by breweries and the league itself is sponsored by a gambling firm, Littlewoods Gaming.
Adult shop
"If alcohol and gambling are considered to be appropriate, then why not an adult shop?"
The Liverpool and District Cricket League was unavailable for comment.
Nice'n'Naughty has eight shops across north-west England and Wales.
Its director, Simon Prescott, is believed to be a keen cricket fan.
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