Beckham effect just not cricket

Jones and Flintoff have advertising potential

Despite England's cricket success, do the Test side's stars have what it takes to be big hitters commercially?

University of Glamorgan graduate Cory Richards, 23, has written a thesis calculating the value footballer David Beckham has on the sale of products he is linked to.

And it seems cricketers are a long way off from having the Beckham effect.

Why? Well, with the exception of a few, including Welshman Simon Jones, the squad are simply not handsome enough.

"I'm not sure the about the cricketers having the Beckham effect because I don't think there are enough good looking players," explained marketing manager Mr Richards, from Merthyr Tydfil.

"I suppose Michael Vaughan has a bit of it because of his strong leadship and people will admire him for that.

"And then you've got 'Freddie' Flintoff because he's a great player and of course Simon Jones."

BECKHAM EFFECT 73% of Beckham fans questioned had bought a product just because of his endorsement Half of general football fans questioned had done the same Beckham earns about £12.5m yearly from advertising contracts Research by Cory Richards, University of Glamorgan

Mr Richards wrote a 20,000 word dissertation as part of his MSc in Marketing on whether fans were loyal to the celebrity or the product they endorsed.

He was recently invited to present his research to 300 leading marketing academics at a conference.

His study found that celebrity loyalty was stronger with people switching brands to the one their hero was linked to.

It is great news for a sports star who has the Beckham effect, with advertisers paying huge endorsment fees.

But if the England cricketers don't have it, who does?

"A certain Mr Henson definitely has it," believes Mr Richards.

Rugby player Gavin Henson has risen to stardom following the Welsh Grand Slam victory earlier this year.

The 23-year-old currently is dating singer Charlotte Church and is frequently pictured on the celebrity gossip magazines and tabloid press.

"He has been sponsored by Gillette and Nike and he definitely has it."

But is there hope for any other sport stars?

"As long as they are good looking and metrosexual, they have the potential," said Mr Richards.