Steve Waugh to sign with MRF

By Malcolm Conn

SYDNEY, NOV. 13. Steve Waugh will announce the richest bat sponsorship in Australian cricket history on Wednesday in a deal believed to be worth about A $250,000 (U.S. $125,000) a year.

The Australian captain will use MRF-labelled bats which have been made famous by the most well paid cricketer on earth, Sachin Tendulkar.

Waugh's agreement comes at a time when most sportsmen are finding it increasingly tough to gain backing because of a post-Olympic drop-off and world economic downturn.

Despite this environment it is believed Waugh's deal is at least $100,000 more than he previously gained from his former bat sponsor Gunn and Moore.

The British bat manufacture is one of a number of sporting goods and clothing companies which have scaled back their endorsements. As a result Waugh has played with a clean blade for much of this year, an unusual sight for a leading international cricketer.

Shane Warne suffered a similar fate with his long-time footwear sponsor Nike which wanted to downgrade its agreement with the champion legspinner. Warne has signed with another footwear company.

An Australian Cricket Board contracted player with significant Test experience said some players now found it impossible to gain sponsorship. ``Money has been cut to pieces,'' he said. ``A lot are not paid for using sunglasses anymore. Young blokes coming through are just happy to get gear whereas some years ago you wouldn't use anything unless you got money for it.''

He said a good state player would be lucky to get $10,000 a year from a bat company. But MRF is a bat company with a difference. It is a huge Indian conglomerate specialising in tyres which has a strong interest in cricket.

Under International Cricket Council regulations, only companies which make commercially-available bats can become bat sponsors for international players. MRF solved this problem by buying a bat company and simply changing the label. An Indian biscuit firm Britannia, which sponsors Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, did the same thing. There has been significant controversy in recent years over the labels some players and teams have sported on their bats.

On the last Ashes tour to Australia, England fast bowler Darren Gough was forced to change his bat stickers because he was sponsored by Asics, which was a footwear firm not a bat manufacturer.

Similarly, Indian and Pakistani players have also been ordered to change labelling because they were supported by tobacco companies.

There was a showdown during a recent Pakistan tour to Australia when the entire team arrived with bats promoting Wills, a cigarette manufacturer.

This created two problems - a failure to use a bat company and a failure to adhere to Australia's strong anti- smoking legislation - even though the Australian Cricket Board had been sponsored by a cigarette company for two decades.

The Pakistani hierarchy reluctantly agreed to change the labels but publicly warned the ACB that it would not be a good idea to arrive in Pakistan with a beer sponsor, even if it was only advertised on team clothing.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Sport
Previous : Still undecided on openers
Next     : England team leaves for India