Waitrose bags England Cricket team sponsor deal

Waitrose has signed a ground-breaking three-year deal with the England & Wales Cricket Board to become the new Team Sponsor of England Cricket from next year.

Waitrose has 291 branches throughout England, Wales and Scotland, the fastest growing major online grocery service and exports to 45 countries around the world.

ECB Chief Executive David Collier said: "We are delighted to welcome Waitrose as the new sole sponsor of our England teams. The organisation begins their relationship with the sport with one of our marquee partnerships, and as a brand with a rich history synonymous with quality, they are a perfect fit for the ECB and our values. They join at an incredibly exciting time for the sport in England & Wales – with a packed international schedule including Test series against the other three teams who occupy the top four spots in the ICC Test Rankings.

"The partnership will allow us to engage further with a mass, family audience which will inevitably help us achieve our aim of inspiring the nation to play, attend and follow more cricket".

ECB Commercial Director John Perera added: "This partnership is especially pleasing for us as we welcome another high profile, high-street brand into our ever-expanding commercial partner family. I would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to Brit who has been an excellent and valued partner of the ECB since 2010, and will remain as Team Sponsor until April 2014".

Mark Price, Managing Director of Waitrose, said: "We currently export our products to a quarter of the world's countries and associating Waitrose with this great national and international sport will enable us to build our brand globally".

Rupert Thomas, Marketing Director of Waitrose, said: "Millions of people play and watch cricket in the UK and at the heart of the game is the cricket tea which of course Waitrose is perfectly placed to provide. We look forward to developing this exciting relationship and bringing benefits to our customers, the Partners who work at Waitrose and the wider community".

As part of the agreement, Waitrose will benefit from a comprehensive range of rights and assets which will include advertising in international cricket grounds, team image rights, ticketing, hospitality and access to England players for commercial and marketing purposes. The agreement also includes a community and recreational project for the sport, details of which will be revealed at a later date.