Sky New Zealand seals Cricket Australia rights deal

Pay-television broadcaster Sky New Zealand has agreed a three-year rights deal with the Cricket Australia national governing body.

The agreement runs until 2019 and includes Australia’s men’s and women’s international games, as well as the respective Big Bash League Twenty20 domestic competitions.

Sky’s coverage begins with Australia’s first Test match against South Africa in Perth tomorrow (Thursday).

Other fixtures covered by the deal in the coming months include the Chappell-Hadlee Series between Australia and New Zealand, as well other one-day international and T20 games featuring Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Australia’s women’s team will face off against New Zealand in three T20 matches, which Sky will broadcast as double-headers alongside the men’s games against Sri Lanka in February.

The BBL and the WBBL get underway next month and Sky will broadcast opening-day fixtures from both competitions.