NatWest strengthens deal with ECB

NatWest has inked a four-year deal with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and will do the branding of various teams, taking over from Waitrose, whose stint will end in early 2017.

The new deal means that the bank will extend their association with the sport past 40 years, having been part of English cricket since 1980. 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).

The shirt part of the deal begins at the start of next summer, which has a packed international schedule, starting with the Champions Trophy, Women's World Cup, tours by South Africa, West Indies and Ireland.