Howzat? Digicel to renew as main sponsor

Denis O'Brien's Digicel is poised to renew its sponsorship of the West Indies cricket team but might be about to take a step …

Denis O'Brien's Digicel is poised to renew its sponsorship of the West Indies cricket team but might be about to take a step back in terms of its involvement. Digicel has sponsored the Windies since 2004. Its latest five-year term expired in July 2012 and involved a minimum payment of $20 million.

This covered the West Indies team, its "A" side, the home test and one-day series, overseas tours and other aspects of cricket in the region. The word is that Digicel will continue to sponsor the team but pull back from other elements of the deal.

A spokeswoman for Digicel said it was "hopeful of finalising" negotiations "within the next few weeks". West Indies Cricket Board chief executive Michael Muirhead told the Jamaica Observer: "We haven't signed the contract yet, but we are really in a very advanced stage. Digicel will be the main sponsor."

Ciarán Hancock

Ciarán Hancock

Ciarán Hancock is Business Editor of The Irish Times