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NatWest broadens ECB sponsorship deal

NatWest will become the major ECB sponsor from next year, taking over the branding of the various teams which are currently under the Waitrose deal that will finish early in 2017

NatWest, currently the T20 sponsor, has had a long association with English cricket  •  Getty Images

NatWest, currently the T20 sponsor, has had a long association with English cricket  •  Getty Images

NatWest will become the major ECB sponsor from next year, taking over the branding of the various teams which are currently under the Waitrose deal that will finish early in 2017, alongside its current sponsorships which include the T20 Blast and the CricketForce volunteering scheme.
The bank has been heavily involved in English cricket since 1980 and the new four-year deal will take them beyond 40 years of association with the sport which began with the domestic 60-over NatWest Trophy.
The shirt part of the deal - which includes all England teams - begins at the start of the busiest international summer which includes the Champions Trophy, Women's World Cup, full tours by South Africa and West Indies and a visit by Ireland at the start of the season.
David Wheldon, the chief marketing officer at NatWest, said: "Ever since we first established the NatWest Trophy in conjunction with the ECB in 1980, cricket has been ingrained in the DNA of NatWest and I am delighted that we will be re-invigorating this partnership by becoming the ECB's first ever Principal Partner."
NatWest are also currently the title sponsors of the T20 Blast and that will continue for 2017 which was the final year of a four-year agreement that began in 2014.
There is extensive debate about the future shape of England's domestic T20 with a recent Daily Telegraph report saying that a new, franchise-based tournament could begin as early as 2018.
One suggestion is that it could be played in conjunction with an 18-team county T20 that would retain its position mainly on Friday nights which has proved successful for some counties in boosting attendances.