England cricket players to get free Jaguars
ENGLAND cricket stars are set for the fast lane with Jaguar in a new £500,000 sponsorship deal which includes supplying the Birmingham-built luxury cars for free.
Andrew Strauss, Graham Swann, Kevin Pietersen, Warwickshire star Ian Bell and other centrally-contracted players will all be given new Jaguars following an agreement between the England and Wales Cricket Board and the luxury vehicle maker.
The four-year agreement with Tata-owned Jaguar replaces a previous deal with Volkswagen, which saw England’s Test stars supplied with Touaregs.
The new Jaguars will be available for all England’s contracted players, and captain Andrew Strauss has already plumped for a supercharged £62,600 Jaguar XFR.
Others chose £75,500 XKR sports models, while XF saloon models also proved popular with some players.
Geoff Cousins, Jaguar’s UK managing director, said: “Jaguar, like English cricket, has been transformed in recent times so the timing and fit is perfect for this new partnership.
“This new partnership is one of the pillars of our sports marketing programme. It is part of our long-term commitment to British sport under the umbrella of the recently launched Jaguar Academy of Sport, which aims to recognise, celebrate and inspire the very best of British sporting talent and success.”
Nick Moore, head of sales at the ECB, said: “With an Ashes victory and an ICC World 20-20 trophy it’s been an excellent year for the England cricket team. And we believe this partnership, with such an iconic brand as Jaguar, is testament to cricket’s wide-ranging consumer appeal.”
The new deal sees Jaguar enter a strategic partnership with the ECB’s national cricket performance centre.
In return Jaguar gets access to a string of commercial rights, including use of the England players for promotional appearances, international hospitality packages, plus ticket, programme advertising and merchandising agreements. Earlier this year Jaguar set up its Academy of Sport, an initiative to promote sport in the UK, backed by the likes of David Beckham, Gareth Edwards and Sir Ian Botham.
