Cricket West Indies (CWI) has signed a five-year deal with BT Sport for the exclusive live coverage in the United Kingdom of all West Indies international home matches played in the Caribbean.
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 have added interest as it 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 — two of the greatest cricketers of all time.
England's visits to the Caribbean are an iconic fixture in the international cricket calendar and regularly attract one of the largest live TV cricket audiences in the UK.
“On behalf of CWI, and all who helped make this deal come together, I am delighted to announce one of our largest ever broadcast rights agreements in the form of this unprecedented partnership with BT Sport,” said CWI President Ricky Skerritt.
“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.”
As well as England’s tour to the Caribbean in 2022, BT Sport will have access to a packed schedule of 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 before the tours to the Caribbean by South Africa, Australia and Pakistan in June, July and August.
“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,” said CWI CEO Johnny Grave.
“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.”
Rachel Knight, Rights Director, 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.”
This is a long-term agreement and has huge significance because the UK is the West Indies’ second-largest commercial market, and where a large number of fans with West Indian heritage reside.
Windies get major boost in rankings ahead of the T20 World Cup
A thumping 3-0 T20 International series sweep over South Africa propelled West Indies up the ICC Men’s T20I Team Rankings into fourth place, ahead of the much-anticipated T20 World Cup.
Despite missing a few big faces, West Indies managed to sweep the series, and that along with the rise in rankings should provide a significant boost to the confidence of the Darren Sammy-coached side heading into the June 1-29 showpiece to be hosted in the Caribbean and United States.
With the series win, West Indies (254 rating points), the champions of the 2012 and 2016 editions of the T20 World Cup, are at the fourth place in the list led by 2007 champions India (264 rating points), with 2021 champions Australia (257 rating points) and defending champions England (254 rating points) at the second and third place respectively.
There were individual bright spots for West Indies in the series, who gained substantially in the T20I Player Rankings. This included stand-in skipper Brandon King, whose 159 runs helped him jump up five places to the eighth position in the Men’s T20I Batting Rankings.
His opening partner, Johnson Charles, who hit a blistering 69 from 26 balls in a Player of the Match performance in the third game of the series, gained 17 spots to reach the 20th place.
Meanwhile, Kyle Mayers (31st place in Batting Rankings) and Gudakesh Motie (27th place in Bowling Rankings) were the other beneficiaries from the recently concluded series.
These results bode well for the Men in Maroon, who will be looking for a record third title during their home T20 World Cup. They are placed in Group C along Afghanistan, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Uganda.
They start their campaign against Papua New Guinea in Guyana on Sunday.
ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings
India -264 points
Australia - 257 points
England - 254 points
West Indies - 252 points
New Zealand - 250 points
Second washout stops England and Pakistan's T20 World Cup preparation
For the second time this series, England and Pakistan saw a game abandoned due to rain, this time at Sophia Gardens on Tuesday.
After their opening game at Headingley was washed out, the teams endured another frustrating day in Cardiff as the umpires called off the third match without a single bowl being bowled.
England’s 23-run victory at Edgbaston on Saturday means they have an unassailable 1-0 lead in the series.
However, Pakistan have one last chance to level things at The Oval on Thursday before both teams head off to the United States for the T20I World Cup in June.
“We got taught a lesson”: van der Dussen credits Windies for dominant performance in T20I series
South Africa stand-in Captain Rassie van der Dussen gave his West Indian counterparts all the praise in the world after his side suffered a dominant 0-3 defeat in their three T20Is from May 23-26 at Sabina Park in Kingston.
The hosts won last Thursday’s first encounter by 28 runs, their biggest win over South Africa in T20Is, and followed it up with a 16-run win in the second game on Saturday and a dominant eight-wicket triumph in the third match on Sunday.
The skipper put the South African performance down to an inability to quickly adapt to the conditions of the Sabina Park pitch.
“We just couldn’t adapt early enough. Yes, we had a long week in terms of layovers in Miami and so forth. I think we saw that in the first match but you can’t keep making the same mistakes,” van der Dussen said after Sunday’s game.
“I think we just got taught a lesson on how to play in Caribbean conditions, especially from a bowling front. It was a difficult wicket to bat on. I think they just out-skilled us, especially with the ball,” he added.
When asked about positives he could take from the three games, he singled out openers Quinton de Kock and Reeza Hendricks as well as young leg-spinner Nqaba Peter who played the last two games, the first two T20Is of his career.
The 35-year-old, who was left out of South Africa’s squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup, says an adjustment he hopes the team makes with the bat is to take a few more chances up front.
“Maybe just be a bit braver. We saw the way the West Indies play, especially in the power play. They really take it on and when the ball’s newer, it’s easier to score than in the back end when the ball gets soft,” he said.
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