Say hello to a new era for Aussie kits

Australia's cricketers will look a little different when they take the field in next month's opening Test match against Bangladesh, but with a full-strength squad of familiar faces, it's not the who that will be different.

For the first time, Australia's men's and women's teams will have a sponsor logo on the back of their playing kit.

Hola Health has upgraded its partnership with Cricket Australia, signing an enhanced sponsorship deal that makes it a 'Gold Partner', upgrading its sponsorship less than one year into the initial four-year agreement.

The company's logo – which has undergone a refresh from the loopy script previously seen on the front of Western Australia's domestic kit – will feature below the number on the back of the playing kit for both men's and women's international cricket.

While Australia's men's T20I side has previously had a sponsor on the rear of the kit, last seen in 2020, this deal extends across all formats, making it the first of its kind in Australian cricket.

In a season where Test cricket will celebrate its 150th anniversary, the latest development is the next evolution that has seen many changes to the traditional Test whites in the past seven years.

The introduction of the World Test Championship in mid-2019 ushered in the era of player's surnames and numbers on their backs, ending 142 years of Test cricketers being unidentifiable from distance to all but the most eagle-eyed of watchers.

At the time, the decision was panned by traditionalists and former players, including the likes of Adam Gilchrist and Brett Lee who said it looked "ridiculous".

The Covid pandemic the following year brought further change.

As cricket boards around the world struggled with a drop in commercial revenue due to the pandemic, the ICC gave nations scope to recoup some losses by allowing them to sell real estate on their shirt front beyond the small square on the breast opposite the coat of arms.

Initially introduced as a six-month trial, the ICC made it permanent in late 2020, and Australia's players duly stepped out for that summer's Border-Gavaskar Test series with a sponsor logo emblazoned across the chest.

Westpac now fills that coveted real estate on the front of all Australian international kits.

The ICC, which tightly controls the regulations about sponsor placement and size on playing kits, relaxed the rules further in 2023 to allow real estate on the back of Test playing kits to be sold.

Australia has been one of the last to take up that commercial opportunity. Only India and New Zealand have not carried a sponsor logo on the rear of their Test playing kit.

South Africa are the only Test-playing nation who have never worn a major sponsor logo on the front of their Test kit.

Australia's decision to put the sponsor logo below the playing number is against the trend in world cricket. Only England and next month's opponents, Bangladesh, followed that route with the rest of the Test-playing nations having their sponsor across the shoulder blades and the player's surname below.

NRMA Insurance Bangladesh Test series

First Test: August 13-17, Marrara Stadium Darwin, 10am (local)

Second Test: August 22-26, Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay, 10am (local)

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster