Carlton & United Breweries has pulled up stumps on its 20-year sponsorship of the Australian cricket team.

CUB has been a sponsor of Cricket in Australia since the 1996-97 cricket season. Its VB brand had naming rights to the domestic Australian one-day international team and domestic one-day series, as part of a deal estimated to be worth $65 million over the past five years.

Josh Hazlewood Credit:Paul Kane

The deal has come under increasing pressure from doctors, lobby groups and politicians in recent years, who have questioned the impact of sponsorship deals between alcohol companies and sporting bodies, given levels of violence and harm in society linked to alcohol abuse.

Company insiders say the brewer is not walking away from sports sponsorship. Instead, the company will focus on other brands, and is not considering ending its deals with the AFL and NRL.