Cricket Australia panned over 'ridiculous' detail as new major sponsor unveiled

Cricket fans around Australia have taken to social media in anger after the latest playing kits were unveiled for the men's and women's national teams. Cricket Australia unveiled the new-look kits on social media on Tuesday, with Ellyse Perry, Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazlewood sporting the kits the players will wear in T20s, Tests and one-day internationals.

All three of the kits feature logos from new major sponsor Toyota, which joined the likes of Asics, HCLTech and Commonwealth Bank as Cricket Australia's major commercial partners. Up until 2019, Test kits were predominantly plain white and featured little to no other colours, such has bene tradition since the introduction of Test cricket in 1877.

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Gradually more and more colour has crept into the Test whites won by players, with the ICC formalising the introduction of players' names and numbers onto the back of jerseys in 2019. The move divided cricket fans at the time, with many traditionalists arguing that Test whites should be plain and decrying the names and numbers associated with the shorter forms of the game.

Fans hit out over size of logo on Aussie kits

Similar backlash has erupted after the unveiling of Australia's newest strips, with much of the opposition centred on the Test shirt. Fans have hit out about the size of the Toyota logo emblazoned across the front of the men's Test and ODI shirts, with many arguing that it is too big and looks "ridiculous" on the front of the national shirts.

“Maybe the logo could have been more of a Yaris, rather than a Landcruiser size”, one user joked on social media. Another added sarcastically: “Can we get uniforms with bigger sponsorship logos please? Maybe the players could get big Toyota insignia tattooed on their faces?

Toyota replaces Alinta Energy as men's sponsor

Toyota upgraded its deal with CA to become the major shirt sponsor of the men's national team after Alinta Energy's deal with the national side came to an end in 2023. Australia captain Pat Cummins was famously at loggerheads with the energy company after expressing his reservations about promoting the company due to concerns around climate change.

Cummins was criticised for being "woke" and accused of costing CA its $40 million sponsorship deal with Alinta Energy - claims he described as "complete rubbish" earlier in the year. At the time, Cummins said he hadn't put any pressure on Cricket Australia and had no regrets about speaking out. "It has always been a balance," he said. "We have seen certain players make decisions based on religions, or certain foods they eat, where they won't partner with specific partners.

"Every organisation has a responsibility to do what's right for the sport and what they think is right for the organisation, and I hope society when it moves forward. It is a balance when you make decisions about who you are going to welcome into the cricket family."

Toyota's new deal with the Australian men's team marries up with Cummins' own environmental ideals, with hybrid vehicles set to be widely used by the governing body. Toyota has been one of CA's commercial partners since 2012, while the most recent major shirt sponsor for the men's team was Qantas for this year's Ashes series in England.

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