Delray Rawlins has secured a sponsorship deal with adidas — the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe and the second largest in the world.

The 19-year-old, who plays for English county Sussex and is fresh off an outstanding debut tour with England Under-19 in India, has agreed a two-year deal with the German company.

“I’m with adidas for two years and a lot of thanks goes to them for the bats and the kit that they provide,” Rawlins said.

“When I was looking for a new sponsor quite a few people said I should go with adidas. As a kid I always liked it and that had a massive influence on me, so we came to an agreement.

“They said they were trying to get a few young players on board.

“I don’t know if it’s a gamble; they had a few people leave this year, so a couple of spots opened up.

“But I’m thankful to them for getting me on board and hopefully it’s a partnership that will carry on for a few years.”

Rawlins, a St George’s Cup Match player, was a standout performer for England Under-19 in India last month.

He made a dream start with an unbeaten hundred on his youth one-day international debut before following up with knocks of 46 and 96 in the second and third matches.

Rawlins scored 275 runs in five innings at an average of 68.75, before carrying that form into the two Youth Tests — both of which ended in draws — scoring 70 not out in the first match, and 140 and 49 in the second.

The adidas bat he used on the tour bears the name of his late grandmother, Valerie Rawlins, who he dedicated his maiden international hundred to in a winning cause at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

“I just started this little thing naming my bats and the one that I’m using at the moment is named after my Nana, who sadly passed away just over a year ago,” Rawlins said.

“It’s named after her and it’s going pretty well at the moment and fingers crossed that it keeps going well for me and I keep putting the performances in.

“The conditions in Mumbai are really nice actually. The ball came on nicely which allowed me to hit through the line most of the time.

“It was no great deal of spin, but the spinners were still very good in those conditions.

“Everything that I tried sort of came off for me and it was very nice to get across the line.”

Rawlins’s outstanding all-round display against India in both forms of the game further underlined his enormous potential. “When you get selected for the England Under-19 touring team you always back your ability and feel that you are good enough to go over there and compete,” the former Bailey’s Bay player added.

“Leading up to it, I did a few net sessions in Sussex and I felt really good with the bat and hit the ball quite nicely. I just wanted to take that into the series and it came off. That’s what you want on a debut really and I couldn’t ask for more.”