England’s and all other World Cup games will be broadcast on one channel by Sky Sports, who are changing ‘Sky Sports 2’ to ‘Sky Sports World Cup’ for the duration of the tournament, which starts a month today for UK viewers.
The switch will mean over 1,000 hours of round-the-clock coverage, including all 49 matches live, as well as build-up, analysis and highlights.
Two dedicated reporters will be in Australia and New Zealand, and ‘the Verdict’ show will be back live after every England fixture to debate the performance.
Two hours of live build-up will set the scene for the opening fixture, which starts on the evening of Friday 13 February in the UK, as New Zealand face Sri Lanka before England play Australia a few hours later.
The channel will launch on February 13 at 6am with a series of classic World Cup matches from years gone by, before Adam Gilchrist shares his trade secrets to success in a masterclass special as part of a comprehensive schedule of support programming.
Sky Sports managing director Barney Francis said: “The Cricket World Cup is the one of the world’s biggest sporting events, offering six weeks of rivalry between 14 nations.
“By dedicating a whole channel to the tournament, fans know that there’s only once place to watch all of the action live, catch up with highlights and enjoy the reaction and views of our experts.
“This is the biggest ever year of cricket on Sky Sports and the channel will help to make sure it’s our best yet.”
Bob Willis, former England captain and Sky Sports pundit, added: “I was lucky enough to play in two World Cups and as player you want to compete against the top teams on the biggest stage.
“It’s only a month to go now until Sky Sports World Cup launches and as a studio analyst and a fan, I can’t wait to watch as all of the excitement and the stories unfold.”
Live commentary in Australia and New Zealand will be provided by Sir Ian Botham, Mike Atherton, David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd, Nasser Hussain and Nick Knight.
The Sky Sports cricket studio back in the UK will be hosted by David Gower, Ian Ward, Charles Colvile and Matt Floyd, who will be joined by plenty of guests throughout the tournament, including Willis, Andrew Strauss and Matt Prior.