Action from Australian domestic season live on Star Cricket

MUMBAI: ESPN Star Sports, Asia’s leading sports broadcaster, will exclusively showcase key matches from the Australian domestic season to Indian viewers on the 24 hour cricket channel, Star Cricket. The channel will showcase 27 domestic one-day matches and 5 domestic Twenty20 matches in addition to the LIVE telecast of the finals of the Pura Cup. This is for the first time that viewers in India will be able to see action from the domestic season of Australia. The sports broadcaster will telecast action from all leading tournaments of Australia including the Ford Ranger Cup, KFC Twenty20 and Pura Cup. Star Cricket is already showcasing live coverage of key matches from the English county cricket season this year thus bringing a veritable feast of high quality domestic action from these two traditional cricket powerhouses.

Ian Chappell, former Australian Captain and an expert analyst with ESPN Star Sports said; “The great West Indies all-rounder Sir Garfield Sobers, who was highly successful for South Australia in the 1960s, once said; ‘The Australian first-class competition is the toughest cricket outside the Test arena.’ That is still the case and viewing the live domestic cricket from Australia will help Indian cricket fans understand better why competitive and aggressive play comes naturally to those who go on to represent Australia. It is the way the game is played at all levels in Australia and a strong reason why every player who earns a Baggy Green cap is ready for the pressures of International cricket. Indian fans will enjoy this hard-fought and competitive brand of cricket.”

Ravi Shastri, former India Captain and an expert analyst with ESPN Star Sports, said, "Australia has been a dominating force in the world of cricket over the past decade and this is because they have been able to produce a stream of international quality cricketers based on a professional and challenging domestic cricket set-up. It will be good to see live action from the Australian domestic season for the first time and I feel this will give Indian cricket lovers a better insight into their vast range of talent through some high quality cricketing action."

"This is also a good opportunity for aspiring young cricketers in the country to watch & sharpen their skills from the high quality cricket on display," added Shastri.

Speaking on the occasion, RC Venkateish, Managing Director, ESPN Software India Pvt Ltd, said, “There is and always has been a huge demand for quality live cricket in India. The live telecast of the English County cricket season on our networks over the past few years has received a very positive response from across the country. We are confident that with the live telecast of the Australian domestic season this year, we will be able to offer more mouth-watering cricketing action for the passionate cricket fan.”

The live telecast of action from the Australian domestic season will provide a huge opportunity to the Indian cricket fan to identify upcoming talent who will be knocking on the doors of the national team prior to their busy home season. The round of games over the next week would be crucial as the Australian players switch from limited-overs to Test mode as the team gets ready to face Sri Lanka before clashing with India over a total of 6 Tests this summer. These games assume special significance as a host of Aussie hopefuls will be using this opportunity to stake their claim for a Test or ODI call-up to fill the vacancies left by the retirement of the Big Three - Shane Warne, Glen McGrath and Justin Langer. Phil Jaques has performed creditably to make a claim for the opening slot; Mitchell Johnson will like to further consolidate on the superlative performances he has given in the recently concluding ODI series against India while Stuart MacGill will look forward to pick up the mantle of the leading spinner in place of Warne.

Schedule of Australian Domestic Season on Star Cricket*