Televised fixtures announced
The ECB and Sky Sports have announced the live televised fixtures for the 2006 domestic cricket season.
At least 58 matches will be screened from the Twenty20 Cup, Cheltanham & Gloucester Trophy, 40-Over League and Liverpool Victoria County Championship exclusively live on Sky Sports.
Of the initial 47 fixtures selected, every county features at least three times with coverage of each competition beginning with the current holders.
The action begins with Ireland’s inaugural C&G Trophy clash with defending champions Hampshire on April 23l. Scotland make their live C&G Trophy television debut the following week against Warwickshire.
The schedule includes:
- C&G Trophy: 10 matches, including two day-nighters, plus the final
- Twenty20 Cup: 13 live matches in 15 days, plus a quarter-final and finals day
- 40-Over League: 28 live matches, including 22 day-nighters and play-off
- Liverpool Victoria County Championship: Two live matches including Hampshire v Nottinghamshire
Barney Francis, Sky Sports’ executive producer for cricket, said: “I’m sure cricket fans will be delighted with the broadcast line-up for next summer which includes numerous mouth-watering fixtures from each competition over a six-month period.”
The quality and innovation of Sky Sports cricket coverage is widely recognised; it was the first broadcaster to introduce super slo-mo cameras and stump microphones to live cricket and player and umpire microphones to the domestic game.
Sky Sports also introduced live interactive cricket in winter 2000 and the revolutionary Ultra Motion camera in summer 2004.
Next year Sky Sports will begin the first year of the new ECB broadcast deal with exclusively live coverage of all England home Test matches, one-day internationals and Twenty20 matches together with all domestic competitions.
Live 2006 matches on Sky Sports confirmed to date are:
April
23: Clontarf, Dublin - Ireland vs Hampshire, C&G
30: Edgbaston - Warwickshire vs Scotland, C&G
May
1: New Road - Worcestershire vs Lancashire, C&G
7: Brit Oval - Surrey vs Somerset, C&G
11-15: Lord’s - England vs Sri Lanka, 1st npower Test
19: Cardiff - Glamorgan vs Middlesex, C&G (d/n)
21: Headingley - Yorkshire vs Warwickshire, C&G
25-29: Edgbaston - England vs Sri Lanka, 2nd npower Test
June
2-6: Trent Bridge - England vs Sri Lanka, 3rd npower Test
7-10: Rose Bowl - Hampshire vs Nottinghamshire, LV County C’ship
11: Chelmsford - Essex vs Gloucestershire, C&G
15: Rose Bowl - England vs Sri Lanka, NatWest Int Twenty20
16: Hove - Sussex vs Hampshire, C&G (d/n)
17: Lord’s - England vs Sri Lanka, NatWest ODI
18: tbc, C&G
20: Brit Oval - England vs Sri Lanka, NatWest ODI
24: Chester-le-St: England vs Sri Lanka, NatWest ODI
25: tbc, C&G
27: Taunton - Somerset vs Gloucestershire, Twenty20
28: Old Trafford - England vs Sri Lanka, NatWest ODI
29: Grace Road - Leicestershire vs Lancashire, Twenty20
30: Chelmsford - Essex vs Hampshire, Twenty20
July
1: Headingley - England vs Sri Lanka, NatWest ODI
2: Taunton - Somerset vs Warwickshire, Twenty20
3: Northampton - Northants vs Worcestershire, Twenty20
4: Brit Oval - Surrey vs Sussex, Twenty20
5: Cardiff - Glamorgan vs Warwickshire, Twenty20
6: Chelmsford - Essex vs Middlesex, Twenty20
7: Old Trafford - Lancashire vs Yorkshire, Twenty20
8: Riverside - Durham vs Derbyshire, Twenty20
9: Old Trafford - Lancashire vs Nottinghamshire, Twenty20
10: tbc, Twenty20
11: tbc, Twenty20
13-17: Lord’s - England vs Pakistan, 1st npower Test
18: Chelmsford - Essex vs Northants, 40-oL (d/n)
19: Worcester - Worcestershire vs Gloucestershire, 40-oL (d/n)
20: tbc - England vs India, U19 ODI
21: tbc - England vs India, U19 ODI
22: Trent Bridge - Nottinghamshire vs Lancashire, 40-oL
23: Guildford - Surrey vs Kent, 40-oL
24: tbc, quarter-finals, Twenty20
25: Hove - Sussex vs Warwickshire, 40-oL (d/n)
26: Taunton - Somerset vs Kent, 40-oL (d/n)
27-31: Old Trafford - England vs Pakistan, 2nd npower Test
August
1: Edgbaston - Warwickshire vs Middlesex, 40-oL (d/n)
2: Derby - Derbyshire vs Yorkshire, 40-oL (d/n)
4-8: Headingley - England vs Pakistan, 3rd npower Test
9: Canterbury - Kent vs Leicestershire, 40-oL (d/n)
10: Cardiff - Glamorgan vs Durham, 40-oL (d/n)
12: Trent Bridge - finals day, Twenty20
14: Hove - Sussex vs Essex, 40-oL (d/n)
15: Derby - Derbyshire vs Gloucestershire, 40-oL (d/n)
16: Old Trafford - Lancashire vs Middlesex, 40-oL (d/n)
17: Brit Oval - England vs Pakistan, 4th npower Test
22: Headingley - Yorkshire vs Worcestershire, 40-oL (d/n)
23: Rose Bowl - Hampshire vs Surrey, 40-oL (d/n)
24: Rose Bowl - England vs India, Women’s NatWest ODI
25: Rose Bowl - England vs India, Women’s NatWest ODI
26: Lord’s - Final, C&G
28: Bristol - England vs Pakistan, NatWest Int Twenty20
29: Northampton - Northants vs Sussex, 40-oL (d/n)
30: Cardiff - England vs Pakistan, NatWest ODI
31: Leicester - Leicestershire vs Somerset, 40-oL (d/n)
September
1: Chester-le-St - Durham vs Nottinghamshire, 40-oL (d/n)
2: Lord’s - England vs Pakistan, NatWest ODI
3: New Road - Worcestershire vs Derbyshire, 40-oL
4: Bristol - Gloucestershire vs Hampshire, 40-oL (d/n)
5: Rose Bowl - England vs Pakistan, NatWest ODI
6: Cardiff - Glamorgan vs Northants, 40-oL (d/n)
7: Chelmsford - Essex vs Lancashire, 40-oL (d/n)
8: Trent Bridge - England vs Pakistan, NatWest ODI
9: Old Trafford - Lancashire vs Warwickshire, 40-oL
10: Edgbaston - England vs Pakistan, NatWest ODI
11: Trent Bridge - Nottinghamshire vs Warwickshire, 40-oL (d/n)
12: Oval - Surrey vs Gloucestershire, 40-oL (d/n)
13: Rose Bowl - Hampshire vs Worcestershire, 40-oL (d/n)
16: New Road - Worcestershire vs Surrey, 40-oL
17: tbc, 40-oL
20-23: tbc, LV County C’ship
24: tbc, Playoff Final, 40-oL
d/n denotes day-night game
