'Irish cricket has been on an amazing trajectory for 10 years'
Thursday 10 May 2018 16:58, UK
Sky Sports has secured the rights to broadcast ball-by-ball coverage of Ireland's inaugural Test - against Pakistan - and the T20I series against India.
Ireland and Afghanistan were awarded full-member status by the International Cricket Council last June, expanding the number of Test-playing nations from 10 to 12.
Ireland will take on Pakistan in their inaugural Test, from 11-15 May, before tackling India in two T20Is in late June.
Warren Deutrom, chief executive of Cricket Ireland, confirmed the details of the largest broadcast rights package in Irish cricket history, which incorporates match coverage on networks in countries including the US and Australia.
"This broadcast package is set to break Irish sporting records, as we anticipate that the T20I series against India alone will be the biggest worldwide TV audience of any event - sporting or otherwise - ever staged in Ireland," he said.
"Since being confirmed as a Full Member of the International Cricket Council in June 2017, we have seen unprecedented interest in Irish cricket - most notably from a range of potential broadcast partners."
He added: "It's been an amazing trajectory over the last 10 years. From playing in front of a few hundred a few short years ago, to playing last year at Lord's Cricket Ground in front of 25,000 - and now we are set to take that next step.
"To know so many people around the world are interested in our team should be a moment of pride for everyone connected with Irish cricket."
The announcement comes in the same week that the ICC announced the fixtures for the 2019 World Cup - a tournament which Ireland missed out on following an agonising defeat to Afghanistan in the qualifying tournament.
Watch Ireland's maiden Test match, against Pakistan, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10.55am on Friday 11th May.
