NatWest inks four-year deal with England and Wales Cricket Board

NatWest has inked a four-year deal with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), signing a contract to carry out the branding services for various teams in the domestic scene. They will be taking over from the current shirt sponsor of the England team – Waitrose, whose stint with the England side will conclude in the early half of 2017.

Apart from providing the branding service for the England side since 1980 with their most recent collaboration being the NatWest T20 Blast which was marginally successful. They are also the current title sponsors of England’s domestic Twenty20 competition – the T20 Blast – having bagged a four-year deal in 2014, apart from the CricketForce volunteering scheme.

“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,” David Wheldon, the chief marketing officer at NatWest, said on Thursday (July 28).

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Although the deal between the ECB and NatWest begins with immediate effect, they will begin as the shirt sponsor only at the end of the Waitrose deal that will conclude next summer. 2017 will be a massive season for the Brits as they will be hosting the 2017 edition of the ICC Champions Trophy. England was the host of the 2013 edition of the Champions Trophy as well, a tournament that was clinched by India after they defeated England in the final at Edgbaston in a rain-hit encounter. Moreover, the likes of South Africa, West Indies, and Ireland will also be touring shortly after the English summer along with the scheduling of the Women’s World Cup.