English cricket today secured a sponsorship deal worth about £50million with Investec as they aim to stay at the top of Test cricket for the next decade.
The 10-year deal will make the specialist bank and asset manager the principal sponsor of Test matches in this country, replacing energy company npower.
It is the longest sponsorship deal in the history of the England and Wales Cricket Board and will begin next summer, when England have three Tests against West Indies and three against South Africa.
This cricket year has been one of the most successful in modern times for the England Test team, who won the Ashes in Australia for the first time in 24 years and also rose to the top of the ICC Test rankings.
Despite the strength of the Test game in England, attendances are dwindling around the world but ECB chief executive David Collier is bullish about the future of the longest form.
"I don't think that interest in Test cricket has been higher in this country for many years," he said.
"There are challenges in other parts of the world but here there is the belief that Tests are the true measure of a cricketer.
"The extent of Investec's investment reflects the fact that our five-day game continues to command very significant audiences."
The ICC recently abandoned plans to stage a World Test Championship in England in 2013 because of a lack of interest from the governing body's broadcast partner, ESPN Star Sports. But Collier added: "I am very confident that the Test Championship will take place in 2017."
