Sydney: The Australian cricket team lost a major sponsor and a host of large companies tore up branding deals with individual players on Thursday as the fallout of a ball-tampering scandal tore into the financial core of the country’s favourite pastime. Fund manager Magellan Financial Group Ltd binned a three-year team naming rights deal, which was only seven months old, while sports apparel giant ASICS Corp and Commonwealth Bank of Australia joined other firms in dropping players caught in the scandal which has shaken cricket. Magellan has not put a price on the sponsorship deal and did not immediately return calls seeking more details, but Australian media reported it was worth about A$20 million ($15.30 million). More than 52 percent of Australians thought suspending players for a season was the most appropriate punishment for ball tampering, a poll by Australian cable television network Sky News found. Nearly a third supported a lifetime ban.
Barcelona
Messi returns to training with Barcelona
Lionel Messi returned to training with Barcelona on Thursday to offer the Catalans a boost with less than a week to go before their Champions League clash against Roma. Messi missed Argentina’s two internationals over the last week due to a hamstring strain, although he did train between the 2-0 win over Italy last Friday and Tuesday’s 6-1 humiliation by Spain. — Agencies
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