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It’s just not cricket

Posted in Media, Latest reporters' blogs, Russell Parsons January 9th, 2009 by Russell Parsons

An extraordinary week for English cricket saw skipper Kevin Pietersen resign after the doubts he expressed to his paymasters over the position of coach Peter Moores left him contemplating cricketing life without the captaincy and Moores updating his CV.

Not the finest of weeks as the national team prepare to tour the West Indies ahead of doing battle with an ailing Australian side this summer. The remarkable events of the last few days come less than a month after English cricket suffered another major blow with the news that Vodafone was dropping its sponsorship of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).   

In addition to the sudden need to find a primary sponsor, the ECB might also be a little jittery over two other major deals – with Natwest, one-day international sponsors and npower, which sponsors test matches – both of which end after next season. 

Sponsorship deals across all sports are bound to be scrutinised as companies think twice over long-term commitments and grapple to deal with recessionary pressures so the ECB must be braced for a sobering year of intense negotiations.

To find itself in the position of negotiating three deals is a real challenge in these straitened times but the ECB can offer existing and potential partners much – guaranteed exposure in cricket mad India, satellite and terrestrial television coverage and a relatively well-heeled audience.

Not to mention media exposure and interest second only to the nation’s other national sport, football. Something that will only be helped by the antics of ex-skipper Pietersen this week.