ESPN-STAR Sports to broadcast ICC U19 Cricket World Cup in over 180 countries

Dubai -  The International Cricket Council's ( ICC’s) global broadcast partner ESPN STAR Sports will take the coverage of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2012, via its licensees, to a huge global audience with live broadcast of all the 10 matches to be played at Tony Ireland Stadium, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.

This announcement follows previous live broadcasts by ESPN STAR Sports of 10 matches during each of the 2008 and 2010 U19 tournaments in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and New Zealand respectively. Apart from the previous two ICC U19 Cricket World Cups, ESPN STAR Sports also televised six matches live from the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2009, which was staged in Sydney.

The broadcast coverage of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2012, which will be staged from 11 to 26 August, will start with a mouth-watering tournament opener between defending champion Australia and arch-rival England on Saturday, 11 August, and will culminate with the final to be staged on Sunday, 26 August.

During the two-week period, fans from across the globe will be able to watch all 10 matches to be played at the Tony Ireland Stadium in Townsville. This will include coverage of five group stage matches, two Super League quarter-finals, two Super League semi-finals and the final.

ESPN STAR Sports and its licensees will service cricket’s traditional heartlands in South Asia, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, West Indies, and the coverage will also be seen across the continents of Africa and South America, and throughout the Middle East, USA and Canada.

In addition to this, ESPN STAR Sports will stream the games live on its website, www.espnstar.com in the territories that are not serviced by a television broadcaster. This ensures the tournament will have a reach of more than 180 territories, including mainland Europe.

ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said the scope of the worldwide broadcast coverage reflected the importance of the tournament. “The ICC U19 Cricket World Cup has become an extremely popular global event that serves both as a finishing school and a platform for showcasing the talents of our future stars.

“The ICC is happy to be working with our broadcast partner ESPN STAR Sports and appreciates its contribution to and support for the promotion and development of the game.”

Peter Hutton, managing director of ESPN STAR Sports, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to be showing the next generation of cricketers to a worldwide audience as part of a remarkable year of sport on our channels, and look forward to what should be an excellent tournament.”

ESPN STAR Sports has also assembled a star-studded commentary team for the tournament, including fellow ICC Cricket Hall of Fame inductees Ian Chappell of Australia and Pakistan’s Wasim Akram, as well as former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar, ex-South Africa spinner Pat Symcox and former New Zealand fast bowler Danny Morrison.

Chappell said he was looking forward to the event. “One of the joys of being a commentator is to see a young cricketer at the start of his career and watch him develop into an international player. I've seen it over the years with players like Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke at the Academy and now I'm looking forward to seeing the potential on show at my first ICC U19 World Cup,” he said.

The broadcast schedule is as follows:

Sat 11 Aug – Australia v England, Tony Ireland Stadium, Townsville

Sun 12 Aug – West Indies v India, Tony Ireland Stadium, Townsville

Mon 13 Aug – Australia v Nepal, Tony Ireland Stadium, Townsville

Tues 14 Aug – India v Zimbabwe, Tony Ireland Stadium, Townsville

Thurs 16 Aug – England v Nepal, Tony Ireland Stadium, Townsville

Sun 19 Aug – Super League quarter-final 4 – D1 v A2, Tony Ireland Stadium, Townsville

Mon 20 Aug – Super League quarter-final 2 – B1 v C2, Tony Ireland Stadium, Townsville

Tues 21 Aug – Super League semi-final – winner QF 1 v winner QF 4, Tony Ireland Stadium, Townsville

Thurs 23 Aug – Super League semi-final – winner QF2 v winner QF3, Tony Ireland Stadium, Townsville

Sun 26 Aug – Final