Opta Signs Data Partnership With ECB

Opta has signed a new three-year partnership deal with The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to become the official and exclusive data collection and distribution partner for domestic First-Class cricket.

The partnership will cover the full domestic programme in the country, including the LV=County Championship, CB40 and Friends Life t20 competitions, and MCCU fixtures as well as all of England Men’s and Women’s home international Test, ODI and T20 matches.

As the official data collection partner of the ECB, Opta will provide ball-by-ball data feeds from all matches as well as defining new categories to aid the development of player and team performance metrics.  

The benefits to the game could include potential new sponsorship revenue streams, as well as new content to engage cricket fans across all types of media. 

Opta will also work closely with the ECB to make this data accessible to the First Class Counties, the National Cricket Performance Centre at Loughborough University and other key stakeholders.

Opta CEO Aidan Cooney said: ‘Opta are delighted to be working with the ECB on this exciting project. Our unique level of data analysis, editorial and visualisation will engage cricket fans in new ways across all platforms. We are proud to be associated with a sport which has such a rich heritage and look forward to playing our part in the promotion of all the ECB’s key domestic competitions.’

ECB commercial director John Perera added: ‘Cricket is a sport which thrives on statistical analysis. Our new partnership is designed to boost fans’ interest in the sport as well as provide an important resource for our key stakeholders and media partners. Opta is an established market leader in the field of sports data capture and a very welcome addition to our roster of official partners.’