England tours to Sri Lanka to be shown live on Sky Sports
Sky Sports will show England's next two tours to Sri Lanka, including the November 2014 trip.
Last Updated: 19/02/14 1:43pm
Sky Sports will offer live coverage of England's visits to Sri Lanka in November this year and then again in 2018.
The agreement means Sky Sports viewers can now enjoy over 380 scheduled days of live England cricket between now and 2020. The schedule includes Test matches, One-Day Internationals and T20 fixtures home and away, beginning with March's tour of the West Indies.
The agreement - secured with Taj Television Ltd - is the eighth rights announcement made by Sky Sports in the last three weeks.
On Monday, Sky announced a new three-year deal for the IPL from 2015 following agreements for British & Irish Lions, PGA Tour golf, Super League, WWE, Scottish Football, Cricket New Zealand and speedway.
Barney Francis, Sky Sports managing director, said: "Sky Sports is the home of televised cricket and the home of the England cricket team and this deal strengthens our schedule even further.
"We'll offer two fascinating tours to Sri Lanka as part of an unprecedented offering of over 380 scheduled live days of England cricket over the next seven years.
"Added to our live coverage from around the world, we have never offered such choice of cricket to Sky Sports customers."
Rajesh Sethi, Ten Sports CEO, added: "We are delighted to have a strong relationship with Sky and it always makes for exciting viewing when England are in Asia. This deal means viewers in the UK and Ireland will enjoy the next two England tours in Sri Lanka, it is great news for fans of the game."
England will travel to Sri Lanka this November for five One-Day Internationals and two T20 matches. The second tour begins in October 2018 and is scheduled to comprise three Tests, five One-Day Internationals and one T20.
Home of cricket
Sky Sports is the home of televised cricket in the UK and Ireland, and the schedule includes England at home and abroad, ICC events, long-term deals for cricket from South Africa, Australia, West Indies, India, New Zealand and England in Sri Lanka. There are also women's international matches, over 60 county matches a summer, plus a range of additional programming.
From next year, only Sky Sports viewers be able to enjoy the world's top four domestic Twenty20 cricket competitions; the IPL, the ECB's NatWest T20 Blast, Australia's Big Bash League and South Africa's Ram Slam T20 Challenge.
Sky has followed England live every winter since 1990. Cricket coverage on Sky Sports features analysis from some of the biggest names in the sport, including six former England captains. The latest cricket news, results and views are also available every day on skysports.com and Sky Sports News HD.
