CA partners with Vodafone for Aussie summer

The ground-breaking documentary that took fans inside Australia's men's cricket team has also played a significant part in rebuilding the team's image in the eyes of commercial partners and potential sponsors.

That's the view of Cricket Australia Interim Chief Executive Nick Hockley who today announced telecommunications giant Vodafone as naming rights partner for men's Tests in Australia for the next three years, which includes scheduled tours by heavyweights India and England.

The telco has also signed on as partner of the national women's team as well as the rebel Women's Big Bash League.

Despite the impact of COVID19 on the global commercial landscape, Hockley cited Vodafone's return to Australian cricket as a vote of confidence in the game for the coming summer and an endorsement of the national teams' culture and character.

It also underscored the re-branding of the men's Test outfit in the wake of the 2018 ball-tampering episode, which was a theme of the eight-part documentary 'The Test' that tracked the men's team from the aftermath of Cape Town to the completion of last year's Ashes campaign in the UK.

Australia's men's Test team now sits atop the ICC rankings (narrowly ahead of New Zealand and India) for the first time since 2016.

Hockley, who headed the organising committee for the hugely successful Women's T20 World Cup before stepping into the CA role last June, said Vodafone's return to Australia cricket "demonstrates how far the sport has come over recent years".

"My background is putting together commercial partnerships, and any commercial partnership is built on the alignment of values," Hockley said.

"I think what we saw through 'The Test' is the values that group holds, and how they're really reflecting the values the public want the Australian cricket team to display.

"We got a real sense from the inside of what everyone stands for.

"All the way through – from the coach, the captain, the staff and the entire playing squad – they have really restored the faith, restored the trust, and this partnership with Vodafone is just another great reflection of that."

Vodafone (initially as Orange and then 3) was a long-term sponsor of Australian cricket from 2001-2012, and also held a 12-year sponsorship deal with England's men's team that ended in 2010.

The Vodafone logo will be prominent on the playing field and beyond the boundary from the coming Test summer, while energy company Alinta remains the men's Test team shirt sponsor.

"Vodafone has a long history with cricket and it's great to reconnect with them," Hockley said.

"They are very knowledgeable and know their sport.

"Businesses have been doing it tough, but what's been incredible and overwhelming is the strength of support and loyalty that our partners have shown us.

"They're with us through thick and thin."

According to the international schedule CA released earlier this year, the first Vodafone Test of the summer will be the historic one-off match against Afghanistan to be followed by the four-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against India.

Hockley remains confident that the full schedule will be delivered, albeit with potential tweaking of dates and venues due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, with CA looking to make further announcements about international and domestic schedules "in coming weeks".

The proposed starting date for the Afghanistan Test (November 21) was nominated before the Indian Premier League revised its playing dates, with the IPL now due to finish on November 10 in the UAE.

That could potentially compromise Test preparations and availability for players required to complete 14-day quarantine upon arrival into Australia.

CA is also looking to finalise schedules for domestic competitions including the men's and women's Big Bash Leagues, Marsh Sheffield Shield and Women's National Cricket League that may require the establishment of player 'hubs' given the ever-changing nature of state border protocols.

"There's a huge amount of work going on and we're increasingly optimistic of delivering a full summer of cricket," Hockley said.

"It's the complexity of the logistics, and it's also making sure that we're managing the risks.

"That can't be under-estimated.

"Obviously we've got to put the safety and the wellbeing of everyone involved first.

"We have also got the added complexity of bringing people from overseas and the inevitable quarantine arrangements that are required to bring people in safely.

"We're well advanced in working through all those details.

"Where we've been fortunate is we've been able to learn from the winter (football) codes, so there are some well-established protocols emerging.

"The team at CA are working around the clock behind the scenes to make sure that's delivered to a level that we can feel confident we're keeping everyone safe."