SEAFRANCE is reviewing its sponsorship of girls’ and women’s cricket in the light of the Kent Cricket Board’s decision to dispense with the services of cricket development manager David Sear.

The man credited with creating generations of talented female cricketers leaves next week after 15 years with the county.

He was also responsible for sealing a three-year sponsorship deal with cross-Channel operator SeaFrance that has funded the women’s game in the county.

Commercial Director Bill Laidlaw admitted he was concerned about the way Mr Sear was treated by the KCB and that he wasn’t informed about the reasons for Mr Sear’s contract not being renewed.

Speaking at the end-of-year girls’ cricket gala on board SeaFrance ferry Rodin, Mr Laidlaw paid special tribute to Mr Sear, who was given a huge ovation by hundreds of players, parents and officials.

He said: "He’s been a wonderful exponent of promoting women’s and girls’ cricket in Kent and from a sponsor’s point of view, he’s been absolutely brilliant."

He added: "I heard through the backdoor, nobody from Kent has told be directly. I’m frankly very disappointed. Whoever takes over has got a lot to live up to because from our point of view we couldn’t have had a better person to deal with than David. He puts so much effort into it."

Asked how secure continued sponsorship of girls’ cricket was likely to be, Mr Laidlaw added: "We will review it in the light of what’s happened. But we are concerned that we haven’t been approached after all we’ve put into the game."

KCB chairman Chris Swadkin said: "I was sorry to hear of Mr Laidlaw’s concern. It’s the first time I’ve been alerted to the fact that he is concerned about the situation.

"There are a number of things going on in terms of what David’s situation might be in the future, in terms of his involvement in Kent cricket."

In a statement, the KCB said that Mr Sear would be leaving to pursue other interests even though it was widely known that Mr Sear was keen to carry on in the role.

Mr Swadkin admitted that communication had not been as good as it should have been. "We’ve been pre-occupied with managing the process of recruiting new people and putting a package together for David," he said.