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Cricket West Indies (CWI) announced a five-year deal with BT Sport for the exclusive live coverage in the UK of all West Indies international home matches played in the Caribbean. The agreement includes all West Indies Men’s and Women’s home internationals.
CWI president Ricky Skerritt said: “Our tour to England last year helped to remind us how strong the West Indies brand continues to be in the UK, and we thank BT Sport for so highly valuing West Indies cricket by committing their broadcast support over the next five years. I am especially pleased that, in partnership with ESPN, BT Sport will also show much of the upcoming CG Insurance Super50 Cup, which starts next Sunday, 7th February.”
With a large fan base with West Indian heritage, the UK is the West Indies’ second-largest commercial market.
As part of the agreement, BT Sport will have rights to West Indies next international home series against England, scheduled for early 2022. This upcoming series will be the first time that the two teams play the Richards-Botham Trophy Test Series—named in honour of Sir Vivian Richards and Sir Ian Botham.
CWI CEO Johnny Grave said: “The first-ever Richards-Botham Trophy in March 2022 will be an eagerly anticipated Test Series, not just for our fans in the UK hailing from the Caribbean, but also to the many UK sports and cricket fans who will be able to watch live on their TV or mobile devices after school or work.
“West Indies home series are the second most-watched cricket in the UK after England’s home matches, and this agreement ensures that the best action from the Caribbean will be broadcast in an extremely important sports and tourism market for the region.”
BT Sport will carry international cricket from the West Indies in 2021 on its sports channels and across its digital platforms, starting with Sri Lanka, who they face across all formats in March. Next will be the tours to the Caribbean by South Africa, Australia and Pakistan over the course of June, July and August.
Rachel Knight, the rights director at BT Sport said: “We want to provide customers with the best sport from across the globe, so we are delighted to add the England men’s and women’s cricket teams to our line-up. In addition to some hugely important and enticing Test and T20 International matches over the next 18 months, the new rights in New Zealand and West Indies will see the world’s top cricketers regularly on BT Sport.”
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Inquiring question, “Are the West Indies team/players involve in the contract between CWI and BT sport?” Inquiring mind wanted to know. On a less serious note, these series wil be good quantrantine companion. Would you agree?