Vodafone has revealed that it has withdraw𒆙n its long-standing, $6.1m-per-year sponsorship of the England cricket team in response to the current worldwide economic slump - but insists that its support of McLaren-Mercedes' Formula 1 outfit remains secure.

The telecommunications giant also plans to end its backing of football's Champions League, following a wide-ranging reꦫview of its sports deals.

Commercial director of the England and Wales Cricket Board, John Perera, reckons that such a move will prove to be merely the tip of the iceberg as the global credit crunch forces companies to increasingly 🎃rein in their expenditure.

"Cricket and most other major sports have had a very successful run in marketing and commercial terms in the last five or ten years," he told British newspaper the Daily Telegraph. "This is the first downturn in the period."