Sky Sports announces schedule

15 January 2009

Sky Sports will show more than 60 games from the four major county competitions as part of another busy summer of live county cricket.

Each county will be screened at least three times from the initial 47 fixtures selected by Sky Sports together with the ECB.

The action kicks off in the Friends Provident Trophy when holders Essex host Northamptonshire on April 19.

There will be 18 live matches in the Twenty20 Cup, starting with champions Middlesex taking on local rivals Surrey at Lord’s on May 25.

All four quarter-finals and the finals day will be screened in its entirety.

In the NatWest Pro40, last year's winners Sussex will travel to Essex on July 13 - the first of 31 live games from the competition, including a record 25 floodlit games.

Two matches from the LV County Championship game will be shown this summer, including reigning champions Durham against Somerset at Taunton from April 28.

The coverage is part of a summer of cricket on Sky which also includes England’s home series against West Indies and, from July, the npower Ashes.

Click here to see the full schedule of games to be screened live on Sky Sports