waitrose cricket

Waitrose has confirmed it will not be renewing its sponsorship of England cricket when its current three-year deal ends in February next year.

The tie-up covers all playing and training kits as well as sponsorship at grassroots level in the community.

“Waitrose is very proud to be sponsoring England cricket, and in the first two years of the partnership with the ECB we have enjoyed not just our strong relationship with a successful England team under Alastair Cook’s leadership, but also the ability to engage with the sport at all levels and at the grassroots in communities across the country,” a company statement said.

“From 2017 onwards we have decided to focus our marketing activity on other areas, but we’ll be continuing to build on our cricket relationships in the next year.”

News of Waitrose’s decision to part company with the ECB is unexpected, considering the success of both men and women’s English cricket of late.

However, the company said it would not be commenting any further, also declining to confirm the rumoured £3m a year value of the deal or that the ECB wanted it to drastically increase that amount.

An ECB spokesman said: “Waitrose and ECB have discussed future plans and our partnership, which started two years ago, and will finish in 2017. The England players and ECB have enjoyed a strong and valuable relationship with Waitrose over the last two seasons and this will continue for the next year.

“ECB are now talking to a range of potential partners keen on being involved with the team and the audiences they attract in the UK and overseas.

“Our teams have been performing well in all formats of the game. We have an exciting, engaging and talented group of players - both men and women - and can look forward to playing three ICC world tournaments on home soil in the next three years.”

When the sponsorship arrangement with Waitrose was first announced, ECB chief executive David Collier described Waitrose as having “a rich history synonymous with quality” and as “a perfect fit for the ECB and our values”.

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