ugc_banner

Ball tampering: Cricket Australia loses major sponsor

WION Web Team
Sydney NSW, AustraliaUpdated: Mar 29, 2018, 07:55 AM IST
main img
A file photo of Steve Smith, Darren Lehmann and David Warner. Photograph:(Twitter)

Wealth-management company Magellan has terminated its three-year sponsorship agreement with Cricket Australia in response to the ball-tampering scandal.

The naming rights sponsorship of the men's national cricket team's domestic series, estimated by the Australian Financial Review to be worth $20 million, only started ahead of last summer's Ashes Test series and was supposed to run for two more seasons.

Magellan's co-founder and chief executive Hamish Douglass said the ball-tampering in South Africa was "so inconsistent with our values that we are left with no option but to terminate our ongoing partnership with Cricket Australia".

Qantas, whose logo is prominent on the Australian team's shirts, said today it would continue its sponsorship, despite CEO Alan Joyce said on Tuesday he was, "very disappointed" with the incident.

Thursday's terminations are the latest commercial blows from the furore that has spread across the cricketing world after opening batsman and vice-captain Warner, Bancroft and captain Steve Smith were suspended for their roles in the ball-tampering scandal during a Test match in South Africa.

Electronics company LG, a manufacturer of televisions, refrigerators and a wide range of other goods, was the first sponsor to take action, pulling out of its sponsorship arrangement with Warner on Wednesday.

Late on Wednesday, Cricket Australia slapped captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner with 12-month bans from international and domestic cricket for their role in a scandal that has rocked the sport.

Cameron Bancroft, who was caught on camera attempting to scuff up the ball with improvised sandpaper during a test against South Africa in Cape Town, was banned for nine months. All three were sent home from South Africa.