How Westpac hit CBA for six in Cricket Australia sponsor deal
Commonwealth Bank held the rights to sponsor Cricket Australia for four decades – then Westpac CEO Anthony Miller stole it from under their nose.
Australian cricketers will be sponsored by Westpac, from left to right: Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Alyssa Healy, Ashleigh Gardner and Sam Konstas. Cricket Australia
It was a devastating fast ball, delivered by Westpac chief executive Anthony Miller, that took out his rival Commonwealth Bank boss Matt Comyn’s middle stump. Westpac, the oldest of the nation’s largest banks, is now officially the flagship sponsor of Australian cricket, ending a 37-year innings by CBA in that role.
The loss of the cricket sponsorship is understood to have left Comyn fuming, and means that Westpac, under the leadership of Miller, now not only sponsors the cricket but also rugby league.
James EyersSenior ReporterJames Eyers writes on banking, finance, payments, regulation and emerging technologies. Based in Sydney, he is a former legal and investment banking editor at the AFR and has been a business journalist for more than 20 years. Email James at jeyers@afr.com.au
