The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Castore, a British manufacturer of sportswear and athletic clothing, headquartered in Manchester, have today announced a new long-term partnership that will see the sportswear brand become the official kit supplier to England cricket.
All of England’s national team athletes – women, disability, pathway and men’s teams – will wear high-performance and bespoke matchday and training kits supplied by Castore from April 2022.
England athletes will help to design the teamwear, creating a uniquely England Cricket style, with recycled material to be used in the manufacture of the matchday playing kits.
Castore will also significantly invest in the ECB’s e-commerce infrastructure, dovetailing its innovative digital-first approach with the ECB’s commercial ambitions.
England fans will benefit with a best-in-class website, tailored specifically for fans to easily select from the high-quality range of Castore’s men’s and women’s England Cricket teamwear.
The partnership is the first time Manchester-based Castore is sponsoring its home nation, a major milestone as the brand continues its rapid growth trajectory and ambitions to challenge the established global brands who dominate the sportswear market.
The partnership follows multiple recent high-profile agreements that Castore have secured across sports including Premier League clubs Wolverhampton Wanderers and Newcastle United, while next year also heralds the start of their partnership with Formula One team McLaren.
All England teams will continue to wear kit provided by current supplier New Balance throughout the coming winter.
Commenting on the development, Tony Singh, ECB Chief Commercial Officer, said: “Castore is a fine example of British ambition driving success and we look forward to working closely with their team over the long term.”
“I am excited by the digital-first expertise that Castore will provide to a truly innovative partnership that puts our athletes and fans at the heart of our planning. The financial and intellectual investment in our e-commerce will give fans faster and easier access to a high-performance range of women’s and men’s teamwear that I am sure our athletes, and our fans, will wear with pride,” he added.
Singh further expressed: “I would also like to place on record our thanks and gratitude to New Balance for all of their efforts ahead of their partnership with England Cricket concluding.”
On the other hand, Tom Beahon, founder of Castore, said: “Today truly is a special day for everybody at Castore. When my brother and I founded this business in 2016 it was our ambition to one day have world-class athletes wearing our products and to achieve this ambition with our home nation for the first time is a monumental occasion for us.”
“We can’t wait to get started and create market leading products for the team’s and contribute to the next generation of success for cricket for the men’s and women’s teams in this country,” he added.
England men’s cricket team is next scheduled to tour Pakistan for two T20Is in mid-October. The three Lions will play the matched on October 13 and 14 against the hosts at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi before flying to the UAE for the ICC T20 World Cup 2021.