ECB sign £50m Investec deal
THE COFFERS of the England and Wales Cricket board will be boosted to the tune of £50m over the course of the next 10 years after they agreed a record breaking sponsorship deal with Investec.
The blue chip bank ended their 12-year association with the Rugby Football Union in June and have turned their attentions to becoming the new title sponsor of English Test match cricket. The contract begins next summer when Andrew Strauss’s team play home series against West Indies and South Africa.
The deal comes as a boost to the ailing five-day game, which suffered a blow when the International Cricket Council announced earlier this month that the inaugural World Test Championships, due to take place in 2013, had been postponed until 2017.
ECB chief executive David Collier said: “This is excellent news for supporters of Test cricket and a further boost for our five-day game. The extent of Investec’s investment reflects the fact that our five day game continues to command very significant audiences.”
Energy supplier npower ended their long-standing association with cricket in the summer, fearing the Olympics could have an adverse impact on coverage of cricket in 2012.