Date:18/12/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/18/stories/2008121851891800.htm

Sport - Cricket

New sponsor would be hard to find: ECB

LONDON: With Vodafone deciding not to renew the sponsorship deal with it, the England and Wales Cricket Board fears a new financial backer would be hard to find.

“It is going to be more difficult than the past, but cricket audience and media exposure are excellent and it will be down to the way we handle the market place. Renewals and extensions are easier to secure than new partners,” admitted ECB commercial director John Perera.

The chairman of Sports Impact, John Taylor, who negotiated sponsorship deals between the ECB and Tetley’s and npower, said the ECB will find a sponsor nonetheless. — PTI