Sky announces 2011 cricket coverage

February 3, 2011   ·   0 Comments

Sky Sports are to broadcast at least 68 live domestic cricket fixtures in 2011 with every county shown a minimum of four occasions.

The summer schedule includes coverage from the Clydesdale Bank 40, Friends Provident t20 and the LV= County Championship plus women’s and under-19s internationals.

The first match of the domestic season is defending Clydesdale Bank 40 champions Warwickshire Bears against Friends Provident t20 champions Hampshire Royals on April 24.

Sky’s live coverage will include the following tournaments :

Clydesdale Bank 40: Coverage begins on April 24 and features 30 live group matches, including 18 day-nighters, both semi finals and the final live from Lord’s in September.

Friends Provident t20: The first match is a repeat of last year’s thrilling final between holders Hampshire and Somerset in the first of a record 36 live matches, including all four quarter finals live and the finals day from Edgbaston in its entirety.

LV= County Championship: Two matches from the LV= County Championship will be shown this summer, including defending county champions Nottinghamshire against Sussex at Hove on May 10-13, with the climax to the competition between September 12-15.

Women’s and under-19s: Four NatWest Women’s International T20 matches to be covered including England against New Zealand, Australia and India plus the final in June, whilst England’s under-19s contest a one-day international against South Africa.

Paul King, cricket executive producer for Sky Sports, said: “This schedule provides viewers with the chance to follow every county and each competition with plenty of fascinating match-ups as the summer unfolds. With commitment to the game at every level including coverage of domestic, England’s women’s and under-19s teams, it will be a very exciting summer of cricket.”

In the Sky Sports commentary box for county cricket are some of the biggest names from the sport including Michael Atherton, Nasser Hussain, David Lloyd, Michael Holding, Nick Knight, Bob Willis and Paul Allott. County coverage will be presented by Ian Ward and Charles Colvile with daily reports, news and views featured on Sky Sports News and skysports.com.

Sky Sports’ live schedule for 2011 includes the ICC Cricket World Cup, all of England’s home npower Test Series, NatWest One-Day International Series and NatWest International T20 matches against Sri Lanka and India, England’s ODI against Ireland in August and England’s winter tour to India in October.

Tags: Clydesdale Bank 40, Friends Provident t20, Michael Atherton, Sky Sports