Westpac bowls up $50m cricket sponsor deal

Westpac has secured a landmark $50m cricket sponsorship deal as Cricket Australia eyes its biggest surplus in a decade and considers opening up Big Bash teams to new investors.

Australian cricketers with new Westpac shirts

Westpac has clinched a deal to sponsor cricket that could be worth $50m over four years, a sum the sport’s bosses hope will kickstart a golden summer on and off the field.

Cricket Australia is aiming to go close to matching the record $99m surplus it achieved in 2015, with a money-spinning schedule including an Ashes test series against England, limited overs series against India and South Africa, and women’s matches against India over all three forms of the sport.

The summer looms as a crucial time for cricket’s financial future, with Boston Consulting Group this week recommending the sport’s administrator sell minority stakes in the eight state-owned Big Bash League clubs.

Such a move would be similar to some overseas competitions, including privately-owned Indian Premier League teams and The Hundred league, which reaped $2bn from the partial sale of franchises.

The Westpac deal, to be officially announced on Thursday, will help Cricket Australia towards its target of the biggest net profit in a decade, according to chief executive Todd Greenberg.

“I don’t think it’ll get to [$100m] but that’s what we will be aiming for - and we will get close to that,” Mr Greenberg said of his fiscal 2026 prospects.

“We’ve certainly got off to a good start. We’ve set ourselves some very ambitious targets, as we should. Our job is to execute on the targets. And if we have some good games and good wickets, and get to some five-day test matches then hopefully we will have a good summer.”

The Australia A team in Darwin. Picture: Cricket Australia

Westpac’s logo will be on the shirts of the Australian men’s and women’s teams for all matches played in Australia across Test, One-Day and T20 formats, Australia A and under 19s matches, and the bank will also become an official partner of the men’s and women’s BBL.

Cricket officials would not confirm the deal value, but industry sources told The Australian it is likely worth about $50m over the four years.

“We can’t wait to join forces with one of Australia’s oldest sports and help shape the future of this great game,” Westpac chief executive Anthony Miller said.

“Through this partnership we’ll work with Cricket Australia to grow cricket at all levels, engaging players, fans and club communities around the country.”

Cricket Australia chief commercial officer Ed Sanders said “from a macro perspective the last couple of years have been tight” in the sponsorship market, but cricket “has the luxury of having a premium product”. “We have the responsibility to deliver value to our partners though.”

Westpac CEO Anthony Miller said the bank was happy to be joining forces with cricket. Picture: NewsWire / Nikki Short

Cricket Australia is navigating its way back to financial health after its balance sheet was hit hard by Covid-19.

It racked up combined losses of almost $60m between 2022 and 2024, with Mr Greenberg saying the 2025 financial year - which includes record crowds for the test series against India and strong ratings for the BBL - was “good” in a fiscal sense, too.

Cricket Australia is typically only profitable when India and England tour, with crowds higher in those summers and international broadcast rights worth substantially more.

There are already 13 days of Ashes tests and T20 games sold out for this summer.

Just as big a talking point for administrators is the looming debate about whether to sell some of the BBL teams off.

The BCG report was presented to cricket administrators this week and while Mr Greenberg would not be drawn on whether he and the Cricket Australia board, now chaired by former NSW Premier and National Australia Bank executive Mike Baird, support a selldown, there is growing interest among organising bodies to cash in on demand from private investors for cricket.

The summer 2025 uniform.

“I think, where the Big Bash is as a T20 league here, it’s had 15 years of considerable investment and growth, and it stands alone in a profitable sense. It’s done a very good job for cricket, and those who introduced it and those who brought it forward deserve enormous credit for that. Our job is to see if we can now take that asset to the next level,” Mr Greenberg said.

When asked if it was likely that investment would come from overseas, including potentially from the Indian corporate sector, he said: “We’ve got the opportunity that most of the domestic sports don’t have, which is being genuine international and the opportunity to generate revenue from that. Our challenge is to make sure that we can capitalise on that whilst also protecting the fabric of what’s been important here over a period of time.

“We should be different. We’re going to have to think differently [to other domestic sports] and that will create some angst, I think, around fans and stakeholders. But if we communicate well, I’m sure we can take that and use it as an opportunity rather than a threat.”