England will get their Women’s Ashes defence off to a positive start in Taunton today, with the support of a new sponsor, high-end electronics company, Bang & Olufsen.
To help the team get into the “zone” before play got underway in the first Royal London Women’s Ashes One-Day International this morning, Bang & Olufsen have supplied personalised sets of H6 headphones to all members of the 22-strong England women’s performance programme.
England’s wicketkeeper batsman Sarah Taylor is especially looking forward to making the most of the new partnership: “It’s brilliant that such a premium and established brand is interested in the England women’s cricket team. I absolutely love my music and will always listen to my latest playlist on the way to games and in the dressing room before going out to bat and field – it really relaxes me and makes sure that I am in the playing zone. This new deal with Bang & Olufsen is therefore brilliant as it combines two things that I love – cricket and music.”
The new deal makes Bang & Olufsen an official supplier of England women’s cricket, and gives the company a range of sponsorship and marketing rights around the team.
It also marks the ever-growing commercial appeal of the England women’s team and is the latest positive news story in a remarkable 18 months for women’s cricket in England, which has included the professionalisation of the international set-up, the announcement of a new Women’s Cricket Super League next summer, and the unprecedented commercial sponsorship for the England women’s team with Kia Motors UK (Ltd).
Commenting on the new partnership, Bang & Olufsen Sales Manager United Kingdom & Ireland, Andrew Macer, said: “Bang & Olufsen is extremely proud to be sponsoring the England women’s cricket team. Our brand mission is to move you with enduring, magical experiences – it’s the reason we exist and that we are celebrating our 90th anniversary year. We aim to be the best in our field, so it was vital that the team we chose to partner our brand shared these same values. The success and drive of the England women’s cricket team has been achieved through dedication, passion and perseverance and made them our number-one choice. Our products, partners and stores reflect this level of excellence – the determination to be the best.”
“Music has an important role to play for those partaking in any sport, or for finding those brief moments to relax in a busy lifestyle. By supplying personalised headphones to the England women’s team, we hope that Bang & Olufsen will contribute to the winning spirit of the team by helping them train, prepare and focus ahead of their next victories in the upcoming Women’s Ashes series. We look forward to welcoming cricket players and fans to their unique Bang & Olufsen experience in our stores, and we wish the team every success this summer.”
ECB Director of England Women’s Cricket, Clare Connor, added: “A year on from securing our first standalone commercial deal for England women’s cricket with Kia, we are thrilled to announce this partnership with Bang & Olufsen. For such a large brand to partner with England women’s cricket is testament to the hard-work, success and ever-growing commercial appeal of the team. We hope that this will be the start of a long and successful partnership.”
“We are undoubtedly experiencing unprecedented and powerful times for women’s sport. These sorts of announcements, whether from women’s cricket or other women’s sports, reflect a new era for us all. I hope we can all continue to smash boundaries together, on and off the pitch.”
Women’s Ashes Series 2015:
| Date | Format | Venue | Points for a win | Points for a tie / draw | Points for no result |
| July 21 | Royal London ODI* | The County Ground, Taunton | 2 points | 1 point | 1 point |
| July 23 | Royal London ODI* | Bristol County Ground | 2 points | 1 point | 1 point |
| July 26 | Royal London ODI* | New Road, Worcester | 2 points | 1 point | 1 point |
| August11 – 14 | Kia Women’s Test | The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence | 4 points | 2 points | 2 points |
| August 26 | NatWest T20I# | The Essex County Ground, Chelmsford | 2 points | Super Over | 1 point |
| August 28 | NatWest T20I# | The BrightonandHoveJobs.com County Ground, Hove | 2 points | Super Over | 1 point |
| August 31 | NatWest T20I+# | The SSE SWALEC, Cardiff | 2 points | Super Over | 1 point |
*ICC Women’s Championship fixture
#In the event of a draw in the NatWest T20I matches, a super over will be played
+Double-header with men’s NatWest T20I (England v Australia)
Live television coverage and radio commentary will be provided for all seven 2015 Women’s Ashes matches via Sky Sports and BBC Radio respectively.
