The ECB is searching for a new title sponsor for the T20 Blast after Vitality decided to end an eight-year naming-rights association with the domestic competition, according to a report by The Telegraph’s Will Macpherson.
Vitality, which took over from NatWest as title partner of the men’s tournament in 2018, has also sponsored the women’s Blast for the past two seasons. Its title partnership with England men’s and women’s home T20 internationals, another arrangement dating back to 2018, will also conclude later this year.
The ECB has been aware of the decision since the middle of the English summer and has already begun efforts to secure a replacement for the Blast.
Vitality retains ties with English cricket
The change does not mark the end of Vitality’s wider relationship with the ECB. The health and life insurance company will remain an ECB partner and is expected to retain its branding on the back of England shirts.
ECB Head of Commercial Partnerships Ben Bradley told The Telegraph: “Vitality has been an amazing partner of English cricket since 2013, and we are incredibly grateful for their support for the growth of the game at every level. Over the years, Vitality has shown deep commitment to cricket, and while they will no longer be title partners of the T20 Blast and IT20s, they continue to be a valued partner to the ECB. We look forward to continuing to work together in the years ahead to further grow the game.”
Vitality’s cricket portfolio also extends beyond its central ECB relationship. The company sponsored Trent Rockets in The Hundred this year and holds the naming rights to the indoor cricket facility at Lord’s, now called the Vitality Lord’s Performance Centre.
T20 Blast adapts to crowded English summer
The search for a new sponsor comes during a period of continued change for the T20 Blast, which has had to operate within a reshaped domestic calendar since the introduction of The Hundred.
The men’s competition moved from 14 group matches per team to 12 this year and switched from two groups to three. Its knockout rounds, including Finals Day, were also scheduled before The Hundred, helping counties retain overseas players who had participated earlier in the Blast.
Around 650,000 spectators attended the competition during the season, a total higher than The Hundred’s overall attendance. However, the Blast no longer occupies the prime summer-holiday window it held before The Hundred was introduced.
Another challenge emerged when this season’s knockout matches overlapped with England white-ball fixtures, leaving counties without some leading players. That particular clash is set to be avoided next year, when Finals Day at Edgbaston is scheduled for a weekend without an Ashes Test, although similar calendar pressures could return in subsequent seasons.
Northamptonshire won this year’s tournament, securing their third Blast title.
Eight-year title partnership reaches its end
Vitality’s departure as title sponsor closes a period in which its branding became closely associated with England’s domestic T20 competition and home T20 internationals.
Group CEO of Vitality Neville Koopowitz said: “The Vitality Blast and Vitality IT20s have been a hugely important part of our partnership with the ECB. While later this year we say a fond farewell to being title sponsor of these competitions, we are incredibly proud of what we have achieved together, how the game has evolved and grown and for the Vitality Blast in particular, bringing the men and women’s competitions under the one name.”
Vitality has not publicly given a reason for ending the two title partnerships. Its continued involvement elsewhere in English cricket means the immediate commercial task for the ECB is narrower: finding a new naming-rights partner for the T20 Blast as the competition enters its next season within an increasingly congested domestic calendar.
