Cricket fans WILL be able to watch England ’s three-Test series with Pakistan after Sky Sports swooped in to secure a late deal.
It was feared that the series would not be available with no TV agreement struck. The series gets underway in Multan on Monday.
Venues had only been confirmed in the past few weeks and that chaos affected broadcasting agreements. An initial tender from the Pakistan Cricket Board saw no channels put forward a bid for the series.
But Sky look set to hold the rights for the short-term future. According to The Telegraph, Sky have managed to reach final stages of talks and are hopeful an agreement can be finalised in time to ensure their commentary team can oversee the series.
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The deal at this stage is subject to approval from the PCB board. It remains to be seen whether current talks revolve around a long-term agreement between Sky and the PCB, or whether they involve just the upcoming series.
Regardless, it is expected to be a busy month for Sky when it comes to cricket content. They will show the Tests in the mornings ahead of broadcasting Women’s t20 World Cup matches from the UAE later in the day
Sky’s main rivals TNT Sports apparently did not enter the running despite holding the rights for a number of international territories. Meanwhile, Sky holds the rights for the men’s and women’s Big Bash.
England test assistant coach Marcus Trescothick has already allayed fears over burnout with the squad flying out just two days after the One Day International series ends. “We all knew what the schedule was,” Trescothick said.
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“It’s not ideal, of course not, but these things are put in place by [those at board level]. You’d want a little bit more time and a break before you go away but it’s not possible.
“I know we’re going to Multan, it’s going to be 40 degrees in comparison to being here [in the UK] and we’ll get stuck into it straight away. Once we get past this period that has a tight amount of cricket then it does calm down a little bit. Hopefully we get through this [period] unscathed and we’ll be OK.”
England have also been sent a strong warning by Pakistan captain Shan Masood as his side aim to end their 10 home Test winless streak. Speaking in a press conference, he said: “It’s not acceptable for Pakistan to not win a home Test for that long and we accept the responsibility for that. As a cricketing nation we all are hurt right now.”
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