Cricket sponsorship by alcohol companies queried

Cricket Australia and Foster’ s as the owner of the VB brand maintained that wearing the cap was “standard practice” and part of the sponsorship deal. The VB logo will be prominent on Aussie shirts and training uniforms for the Ashes tour and other matches in what is being officially promoted as the “VB Tour of England” which sees its first test match in Cardiff on 8 July.

VB is not the only brand involved as Wolf Blass Wines and Johnnie Walker also feature.

Cricket Australia seems used to its sponsorship programmes receiving the flak from concerned health activists. Last October, obesity experts called on Cricket Australia to end its sponsorship deal with fast-food chain KFC.

They said the relationship was “unhelpful and irresponsible” given the childhood obesity epidemic facing the country.

The fried chicken chain has been the official fast-food restaurant sponsor for the sport since 2003.

As concerns KFC, Cricket Australia refused to back down.