Why Australian cricket shirts are missing major sponsor

Heading into a blockbuster World Cup and home summer, the Australian cricket team is missing something important from its shirt.

With less than three months to go until the start of the home summer of cricket, the Australian men’s cricket team remains without a major shirt sponsor.

The intermission of the ODI Cricket World Cup, beginning Thursday night, buys the governing body time to find a sponsor.

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The men’s team has been forced to undergo pre-season publicity with noticeably bare chests, particularly compared to the women’s teams, sponsored by Commonwealth Bank.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Cricket Australia are prepared to wait until the eve of the home summer, which begins with a Test against Pakistan in Perth on December 16, to confirm the most prominent sponsorship in cricket.

“We have had significant interest from various brands, including for properties that are currently under contract,” CA head of broadcast and commercial Stephanie Beltrame said in a statement to news.com.au.

“The uniforms worn by our Australian cricket teams are iconic and we are comfortable taking our time to secure a great partnership for the men’s shirt that is mutually beneficial for all parties.”

The Australian cricket international kits for 2023-24, with the men’s kits notably blank. Photo: Cricket Australia

The national teams haven’t taken to the field without a major shirt sponsor since the mid-1990s, when legislation around tobacco advertising meant that Benson & Hedges cigarettes weren’t advertised on playing shirts, despite the brand having been a stalwart of cricket sponsorship in Australia for over two decades prior.

The exception to this was in 2013, when devoutly Muslim legspinner Fawad Ahmed wore a blank Australian shirt for five white-ball appearances, foregoing the logo of brewery Victoria Bitter on his chest.

Ahmed, like current Test opener Usman Khawaja, does not drink alcohol owing to his faith.

Prime position on the men’s kit has been the centre of significant scrutiny after a period where athletes have taken greater agency in the brands they represent in the course of their national duties.

Last year, captain Pat Cummins raised his concerns with Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley over ethical sponsorships.

Cummins has been an active voice among sportspeople on climate action. and Alinta’s parent company are one of the nation’s most significant carbon emitters.

The last time Australia saw a blank chest where a major sponsor should be was a decade ago with Fawad Ahmed. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Cummins said last year he hoped Cricket Australia considered player views when it came to sponsorship arrangements.

“I hope that when we think of who we want to align with, who we want to invite into being part of cricket, I hope climate is a real priority,” Cummins told the Nine papers.

“I’ve got my own personal views so when it comes to personal sponsorships there are some companies I wouldn’t want to align with. When we’re getting money, whether it’s programs for junior cricket, grassroots, things for fans around Australia, I feel a real responsibility that with that, we’re doing on balance what is the right thing.”

Alinta took over the major sponsorship of the men’s shirt in all three formats after the 2018 ball-tampering scandal, which saw a raft of major sponsors leave the sport.

Amid the revelations of Cummins’ movements within Cricket Australia, Alinta had already chosen to not renew its contract with the governing body, leaving it in its current predicament of lacking a major sponsor.

Cricket Australia maintain that Cummins’ views were unrelated to the contract decision, saying in a statement in October 2022 that the mutual call was part of a “change in brand strategy”.

The furore around Cummins and climate came at the same time as Noongar woman and Australian Diamond Donnell Wallam led the national netball side in a refusal to wear the name of Lang Hancock (of mining giant Hancock Prospecting, then a sponsor of Netball Australia to the tune of $15 million).