British clothing manufacturer to become official kit supplier of the ECB.

 

The England and Wales Cricket Board announced on Tuesday a long-term partnership with premium lifestyle and sportswear brand Castore. The partnership will see Castore become the Official Kit Supplier for the English cricket teams from April 2022. The deal is reported to be worth £25 million over a period of ten years.

All of England’s teams – the men’s, women, disability, and pathway teams – will wear matchday and training kits supplied by the brand. Castore will also work with the ECB to create and design the team wear with recycled material set to be used to manufacture the matchday kits, showcasing the board’s commitment to a sustainable future.

Castore will also invest in ECB’s e-commerce infrastructure and the English cricket fans will also be able to purchase Castore’s men’s and women’s England cricket team wear from the website.

 

ECB’s Chief Commercial Officer, Tony Singh, said:

“Castore is a fine example of British ambition driving success and we look forward to working closely with their team over the long term. I am excited by the digital-first expertise that Castore will provide to a truly innovative partnership that puts our athletes and fans at the heart of our planning. The financial and intellectual investment in our e-commerce will give fans faster and easier access to a high-performance range of women’s and men’s team wear that I am sure our athletes, and our fans, will wear with pride.

“I would also like to place on record our thanks and gratitude to New Balance for all of their efforts ahead of their partnership with England Cricket concluding.”

 

Castore’s founder, Tom Beahon, added:

“Today truly is a special day for everybody at Castore. When my brother and I founded this business in 2016 it was our ambition to one day have world-class athletes wearing our products and to achieve this ambition with our home nation for the first time is a monumental occasion for us. We can’t wait to get started and create market leading products for the team’s and contribute to the next generation of success for cricket for the men’s and women’s teams in this country.”

 

The English team will continue to wear their New Balance kits throughout the coming winter. The ECB had signed a five-year deal with New Balance in 2017.

The deal is a significant one for Castore, for whom this will be the first time it will be sponsoring their home nation.

Castore currently has partnerships with Premier League clubs Wolverhampton Wanderers and Newcastle United, and it will also tie up with British Formula One team McLaren from the next year onwards. Previously, Castore used to serve as a sponsor to the West Indies cricket team back in 2019.