Cushi Ming has been designing Cup Match merchandise, on and off, for more than a decade.

This year’s T-shirts, hats and stickers clearly say “Somerset Cricket Club” and “St George’s Cricket Club”.

He will have to rethink his design next year, when the clubs start reinforcing their trademarks under a new Cup Match company that represents both cricket teams.

“My merchandise is for sale at Freshmen in The MarketPlace Heron Bay in Southampton,” Mr Ming said.

Last week, Richard Scott, the president of Somerset Cricket Club, came into the store to warn of the tightening controls. Designers like Mr Ming will no longer be able to use the names of the Cup Match clubs without first getting a licence from the company.

Individually, Somerset Cricket Club and St George’s Cricket already have their club names trademarked, but have done little to reinforce that over the years.

Forming a conjoined company will give them more resources to do so, and the ability to create an authentic Cup Match brand.

Mr Ming was not at Freshmen for the visit, but later called Mr Scott and had a quick chat about it.

“I had the impression they just want to get through Cup Match, for now,” Mr Ming said. “However, they could start enforcing the trademark as early as October.”

Designers and vendors will still be able to use the words “Cup Match” and the Cup Match teams colours, just not the name of Somerset Cricket Club and St George’s Cricket Club without first obtaining a licence.

The clubs have not yet decided how licences will be awarded.

It was too early for Mr Ming to say whether he would apply for a licence from the new company next year or simply design around the issue, avoiding the club names.

“I am a self-taught graphic designer and have been in the creative field for about ten years,” he said. “I have done multiple editions of Cup Match T-shirts. It is one of my staples.”

He said Cup Match sales have been a little different for him this year.

“My intention was to be less involved in the sales process,” Mr Ming said. “In the past, I have been the face of it and also organised, marketed and sold everything.”

This year, he partnered with Freshmen to sell his Cup Match T-shirts, hats and stickers. From that, he has learnt a valuable lesson about being your own brand.

“You just cannot take into account how important your presence is,” he said.

“Sales have not been moving as quickly as I expected.”

In previous years he was located in a kiosk in the Washington Mall and sold 30 to 40 T-shirts a day because of the heavy foot traffic.

In Southampton, he has been selling four to five T-shirts a day.

“I have had to jump in and invigorate things,” he said. “The merchandise is now also available at Kit & Caboodle in the Bermudiana Arcade in Hamilton, and Lookie-Lookie in the Washington Mall and through the Sargasso Sea app.

“We are also looking at being at the Court Street Market and a couple of other markets.”

Mr Ming said Cup Match was his favourite holiday.

“Especially when I was younger, all of the celebrations, nightlife, festivities and unity was so exciting to me,” he said.

He started designing Cup Match T-shirts, hats, stickers and other items in 2013, because he felt that what was available was “kitschy”.

“I wanted to elevate the look of Cup Match to a Wimbledon, US Open or PGA Tour,” he said.

In the meantime, considering these may be his last T-shirts with the words “Somerset Cricket Club” and “St George’s Cricket Club” on them, he joked that they were collector’s items.