Sponsors departing the England crease opens up chance for a new wave of commercial interest while the Test team are on a high
They say bad news comes in threes. For the England and Wales Cricket Board, the announcement last week that three of its major sponsors would not be renewing their deals looked on the surface like a significant challenge for its commercial team. Yet, for the nation’s second most popular sport, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic.
Yes, the economy is sluggish but, of the departing brands, Cazoo, lead sponsor of the Hundred, appears to have run out of road in its sponsorship arms race with Cinch. LV= and Royal London, meanwhile, are brands that have enjoyed long relationships with the sport without ever properly grabbing the spotlight.
They each also happen to be leaving the crease at precisely the point when the England men’s team have taken a dramatic turn for the good, which is always the best time to attract new sponsors.
England on fire
As reigning World Champions in both white-ball formats, they will head to India in the autumn to defend the 50-over title secured in dramatic circumstances in 2019.
But the real measure of England’s success for die-hard fans remains their performance in the Test arena – and against Australia in particular.
Progress is measured from Ashes to Ashes and after their shambolic efforts Down Under last winter, England would have been under huge pressure to at least compete in this summer’s series.
But then came a new captain – star man Ben Stokes; a new coach – Kiwi Brendan “Baz” McCullum; and Bazball was born. By applying techniques and tactics from shorter formats, England have blown good teams away, scoring at five, six or seven an over to amass totals quickly, giving time for their bowling attack to win games.
Oh, and by the way, that’s an attack without Jofra Archer, who bowled like the wind against the Aussies in 2019, is back from injury and firing in the SA20 and seems set for an Ashes comeback.
Stokes’s heroes are winning fans wherever they go and that will guarantee sell-out crowds across all formats this summer, creating the perfect shop window for the ECB to showcase the sport to potential new sponsors.
Commercial interest
It’s no longer just the men who will be driving commercial interest in cricket.
The inaugural women’s version of the Indian Premier League begins in March and has given the strongest possible indicator of the increasing financial appeal of the women’s game, with Indian network Viacom18 paying more than $1m per game for the TV rights.
English cricket is well aware of this growth in potential and its commercial teams are exploring ways to ensure women’s cricket can capitalise on an expanding fanbase, particularly with their own home Ashes series looming.
Perhaps its most notable success to date has come with the tournament designed to draw new audiences to both the men’s and women’s game, the Hundred.
Attracting a new sponsor for that will be a priority but that is not the only commercial interest that the ECB will be entertaining for its newest competition.
As has become common across the sporting world, success has attracted interest from private equity. Reports of a $400m bid from the Bridgepoint Group for 75 per cent of The Hundred prompted ECB chair Richard Thompson to suggest it is worth a lot more.
Whether such bids will tempt English cricket in the way they have enticed those in, say, rugby union, is likely to be a long game with Thompson adamant that the ECB will not sell the game short.
When it comes to replacing departing sponsors across multiple formats though, the long and the short of it is that opportunities abound for brands wishing to align themselves with what could be a golden era for English cricket.
Neil Hopkins is head of global strategy at M&C Saatchi Sport and Entertainment.