NOT A SINGLE Caribbean station has reached an agreement with the American company that holds the rights for the 2003 World Cup.With the region facing a potential blackout of cricket’s most prestigious event, the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) has summoned some of its clients to an emergency meeting in Antigua today.After CMC’s negotiations with rights holders EchoStar Communications recently broke down, the Barbados-based company advised regional stations to enter into their own negotiations with EchoStar.When contacted, Mark Lumpkin, a spokesman for EchoStar, said they were yet to make a deal with any station in the region."The folks we have been negotiating with for carriage of cricket in the Caribbean have not been responsive."They have been delaying the process," Lumpkin told the SUNSPORT from his office in Colorado."We would like to offer cricket in the Caribbean and we are pursuing discussions with individual broadcasters."Large audienceLumpkin did not disclose how many Caribbean stations were involved in the negotiations, but the SUNDAY SUN understands about a dozen stations had approached EchoStar following the withdrawal of CMC."We know there is a large audience in the Caribbean that would like to watch World Cup cricket and we are working as hard as we can to deliver that service to them through local broadcasters," Lumpkin said.EchoStar, which acquired exclusive television, radio and Internet distribution rights for North, Central and South America and the Caribbean, offered them to the region at a cost of US$1 million, the CMC said in a statement."When the [North American] corporation indicated that they expected US$1 million from the Caribbean region, and CMC pointed out that their expectation exceeded our mandate – it exceeded what was paid the last time by 100 per cent and exceeded reasonable expectations three weeks before the World Cup starts – we were asked for our best and final offer," the CMC said.Three requests"It was provided in writing three times following three requests."CMC has been subsequently advised that in some markets some stations have made offers exceeding the offer they mandated the CMC to make, while in others, demands are being made at three to four times higher than the CMC offer.It was what the CMC had predicted in a protest in November to the International Cricket Council and former international rights holders World Sports Group."We made the point that notwithstanding the fact that while the West Indies have been a cricket superpower, the Caribbean is a small free-radio and TV marketplace, burdened by high technical costs to get cricket to small economies," the CMC said.EchoStar was not willing to discuss details of the negotiations, but Lumpkin said the rights for world cricket could run into "hundreds of millions of dollars".

Although the expression “Decision Day for England” has been used with monotonously repetitive regularity over the last week, there is no doubting today’s qualifications for such a tag.The World Cup technical committee is meeting in Johannesburg to decide whether England should play their World Cup Pool A match against Zimbabwe in Harare. The England and Wales Cricket Board hope that new evidence will persuade the committee that death threats received from an organisation called the “Sons and Daughters of Zimbabwe” cannot be dismissed as a hoax, as claimed by the Deputy Commissioner of South African Police, Andre Pruis.He said that the organisation was not known to pose a serious threat and that he received several such letters himself on a personal basis. However, it was later revealed that the organisation was known to Interpol.There appears to be little sympathy for England’s cause outside the country. Indeed, two of the Boards’ top brass, Jagmohan Dalmiya (India) and Percy Sonn (South Africa) have gone well beyond the mere unsympathetic in adding their respective verbal fusillades.Dalmiya suggested that far from just forfeiting the match if they don’t play in Harare, England should actually be docked an additional four points for failing to do so. In a letter to International Cricket Council chief executive Malcolm Speed, he stated: “The ICC should come to a firm and final decision whether Zimbabwe is a safe country or not for playing World Cup matches.”If Zimbabwe is not a safe country, then shift all the matches from there. But if it is safe, award full points to Zimbabwe for the England match and levy a penalty of four minus points on England.”Meanwhile the president of the United Cricket Board of South Africa, Percy Sonn, has now been called to account by his own organisation. Sonn, who some observers claimed was drunk at the game between India and Holland at Paarl, was heard to launch into a tirade about English cricket in front of ECB chairman David Morgan, who was attending the game as Sonn’s guest.The UCBSA chief executive Gerald Majola is planning to talk to Sonn about the alleged incident. The ECB has maintained a dignified silence.”I have spoken with Percy and he will get the opportunity to discuss the matter with the UCB general council in the next few days,” said Majola. “Until that discussion has taken place, it is inappropriate for the UCB to make any further comment on the issue.”Sonn later apologised for his behaviour, in response to requests from several South African politicians.Sonn said in a statement: “I realise that my conduct at Boland Park on Wednesday fell short of standards which people find acceptable for a person in my position and, if I offended anyone with my behaviour, I sincerely apologise.”Earlier this week Sonn told a press conference that South Africa might boycott this summer’s tour of England in retaliation for the ECB’s refusal to honour their World Cup fixture in Zimbabwe on security grounds.It is against this unedifying background that the technical committee will decide whether to abandon England’s match on safety grounds and split the points between the countries, relocate the game or hand the points to Zimbabwe.It is not just millions of pounds that are riding on the decision. So, it seems, is almost an entire summer programme of international cricket in England.

Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya is confident that his side can upset Australia in their first Super Six match at Centurion on Friday and book an early berth in the World Cup semi-finals.”We need to pull off one of the big games either against Australia or against India to make it more easier for us before we come up against Zimbabwe. We are taking it one by one,” said Jayasuriya after the team’s morning practice.”Australia and India are two of the strongest teams and we’ll have to play very good cricket to beat them. We need to get on top of them early.”If you go down in the game, you cannot come out on top of these teams. They are very good in both departments batting and bowling. If you are batting, in the first few hours you have to put some runs on the board, and when you bowl, you have to bowl well to tie them down,” he said.”If our batsmen can show the same form they had shown against West Indies and South Africa, we will be able to put up a good total for our bowlers.”We have been working really hard at our cricket after losing to Kenya. We had to win the last two games against West Indies and South Africa and on both occasions we did really well. I am very happy the way things are at the moment, but there is a lot of hard work ahead of us."A big bonus is the form shown by veteran Aravinda de Silva.The 37-year-old, the architect of Sri Lanka’s 1996 triumph, has struck form at the right time scoring a scintillating 73 and taking two crucial wickets against South Africa.”Aravinda’s presence in the team is a big factor and serves a lot of purpose. He can bat and also bowl. He is in the runs at the moment and it is a huge advantage for the team. He is an experienced campaigner and his presence on the field is helpful to me. When things aren’t going right he can tell me a few things and put us in the right direction,” said Jayasuriya.Sri Lanka’s problems lie with the poor batting form of Mahela Jayawardene and the inability of the other seamers to support strike bowler Chaminda Vaas.Jayawardene has yet to get into double figures in the tournament, accumulating just16 runs (avg. 4.00) with a top score of nine.”We pushed him up the order in the last match to enable him to get some runs, but he failed. He is too good a player to be dropped,” said Jayasuriya.”Mahela has a lot of potential and we still have faith in him. He is a player who can change a match with his batting. Unfortunately, he is not in the runs. But he is too good a cricketer to keep failing for a long time.”Any batsman who goes through a bad patch like Mahela will think of so many things. I went through a similar period in the first few games in Australia. I think you have to be simple and only think of the basics. Mahela should play his natural game and not think of anything else. He is in a shell at the moment and he has to come out of it very quickly,” he said.Apart from Jayawardene, wicket-keeper/batsman Kumar Sangakkara is also short of runs making just 52 from five innings (av. 13.00) and a top score of 24.He said that Pulasthi Gunaratne and Dilhara Fernando were struggling as Vaas’ support bowlers.”Pulasthi is coming out of an hand injury and Dilhara is not hitting the right areas. They are working hard at their game,” said Jayasuriya.”At Dilhara’s pace he is unable to sometimes control the line and length. What we want him to do is to get us some wickets. If he can get one or two early wickets, that’s what matters,” he said.One thing that will be to Sri Lanka’s advantage is the absence of fast bowler Jason Gillespie who was forced to return home after straining a tendon in his heel. He has been replaced in the squad by left-armer Nathan Bracken.”I think it will be a big loss for Australia, Gillespie not being there. He is one of their best bowlers. It is an advantage for us that he is not there,” said Jayasuriya.

Among the two semi-finals lined up for the final stages of the 2003 World Cup, the Australia-Sri Lanka tie on Tuesday looks the more exciting, and the pitch at St George’s Park, Port Elizabeth, will play a crucial role. As we have seen, the track is on the slower side and assists spin. That factor will help the Sri Lankans a great deal, especially if they can bat first and put up a competitive total.I have been mentioning throughout this tournament that the toss should never be a major factor in deciding the course of the game, so it is perhaps unfortunate that all eyes will be on that coin on Tuesday to find out who bats second. I sincerely hope that the curators prepare a decent strip for an important fixture like a World Cup semi-final.A look at the teams – on paper, naturally – will reveal that Australia is miles ahead of the Sri Lankans. The Aussies came into this tournament as the top seed, and they have gone on to win every game they have played. If the pitch assists the spin of Muttiah Muralitharan, Aravinda de Silva and Sanath Jayasuriya, the game will be much closer than anticipated.Australia’s last game on a slow track – against Kenya – was not an exercise in perfection, although the presence of Andrew Symonds and Ian Harvey will give the Australian batting some depth. Having said that, Muttiah Muralitharan is the man the Aussies will have to watch out for; in the absence of Shane Warne, Muralitharan is the unquestioned spin-king in this tournament, and all it will take is one special performance from the champion spinner to upset the Aussie apple-cart.It will be important for both teams, then, to ensure a good start, and if Chaminda Vaas can strike a few early blows, the pressure will definitely be on the Aussie middle-order, especially against Muralitharan. Jayasuriya will no doubt be thinking about relying on the slow bowlers to rush through the middle-overs without giving away too many runs.Similar requirements apply to the Sri Lankan batting, and the openers are once again very crucial. Marvan Atapattu is in fine form, and if Jayasuriya can produce one of his free-flowing knocks and succeeds in upsetting the line and length of the speedsters, Sri Lanka can get off to a flyer. Aravinda de Silva will also have a major role to play if Sri Lanka are to succeed; de Silva has a wonderful record against the Aussies, and he is one batsman who thrives under pressure.Most teams in this tournament have been going in with relatively weak fourth and fifth bowling options, and I have a feeling that the fifth bowler will be severely tested in the semi-finals and final of this World Cup. Someone like Brad Hogg has impressed greatly, but he has had the advantage of bowling after very successful fast bowlers. If the Australian fast bowlers were to fail initially, Hogg bowling to a well-set Jayasuriya would be a sight worth watching .The World Cup is now in its knock-out stages, and no team can afford to have even one bad period of play on the day. A dropped catch or a missed run-out chance could cost the team dearly, and I think it is here that Australia holds the advantage, for they are a brilliant fielding side and more often than not catch almost everything hit their way.But then again, this is the semi-final of a World Cup, and there are genuine match-winners on both sides. I have a feeling that Muralitharan will be playing at a very different level on Tuesday, and that could very well turn the tide in Sri Lanka’s favour.

Essex County Cricket Club begin their Frizzell County Championship Division1 campaign with a home match against near neighbours and rivals Middlesex,commencing on Good Friday. The game runs over the full Easter weekend andEssex, as part of their on-going Kids Into Cricket campaign with associatesponsors Essex & Suffolk Water, are offering children under 18 entry intothe match days for just £1 over the holidays. There are no limits to thenumber of children that adults may bring.A good crowd is expected with many seeing the new installation of theimpressive Essex floodlights at the County Ground for the first time, aswell as the new public and Members’ seating in many areas of the ground andthe new Public Bar Marquee where the public visitors may now purchaseShepherd Neame beers under shelter.The Club are also opening the new Hayes Close Members’ Restaurant undercanvas, which replaces the Riverside Restaurant. The new facility offersexcellent views of the cricket and is expected to be extremely popular.Commercial Manager Dave Comley said:”The Club has done an awful lot to improve facilities for the Members andPublic for the new season and we hope that we will get a bumper support tostart the ball rolling on Good Friday.”The first day of the new season at Chelmsford is Good Friday, commencing at11.00 a.m. with the game scheduled to run to Easter Monday.

Division One

Kent v Middlesex, Canterbury
Kent have kept faith with the squad that travelled to Chelmsford for theNational League clash with Essex on Sunday. David Fulton and Min Patelcontinue their recoveries from eye and back operations respectively, whileAmjad Khan remains sidelined by shin problems. Ben Gannon, left out ofMiddlesex’s rain-affected draw with Lancashire, could replace the legspinnerImran Tahir, depending on the state of the Canterbury wicket.Lancashire v Essex, Old Trafford
Andrew Flintoff is struggling with an arm injury and may miss out, but GaryKeedy should keep his place after figures of 6 for 68 against Middlesex lastweek. Kyle Hogg is still out with a torn calf muscle. Carl Hooper will makehis Lancashire debut after receiving clearance to play from the England &Wales Cricket Board. Darren Robinson is ruled out of Essex’s team with acalf injury, which means Rav Bopara, 18, is set for his first appearance ofthe season.Surrey v Leicestershire, The Oval
Rikki Clarke replaces Alex Tudor, who faces a scan on his troublesome knee.Ian Salisbury is also named in the 12-man squad after recovering from afinger injury, but Graham Thorpe is overlooked for the third consecutivechampionship match. Virender Sehwag, Darren Stevens and Charlie Dagnallreturn to Leicestershire’s team, and Phil DeFreitas has shaken off a backproblem.Division Two

Durham v Worcestershire, Stockton
Injury problems continue to dog Durham’s season, withPaul Collingwood (shoulder), Dewald Pretorius (thigh), Mark Davies (lung)and Nicky Hatch (Achilles) all unavailable. Javagal Srinath is recalledafter being rested for the near-embarrassment against Durham UCCE last week.Graeme Hick and Nantie Hayward return for Worcestershire – they both optedout of the tied tour match against Zimbabwe. Steve Rhodes returns at theexpense of Jamie Pipe, while the South African allrounder Andrew Hall makeshis championship debut.Gloucestershire v Hampshire, Bristol
Gloucestershire have named an unchanged side after their six-wicket victoryover Glamorgan strengthened their position at the top of the SecondDivision. Hampshire are expected to rest Wasim Akram, with James Tomlinson,another left-arm seamer, taking his place. Tomlinson, 20, has been draftedinto the squad from Cardiff UCCE, as cover for Ed Giddins who is recoveringfrom a rib injury.Northamptonshire v Yorkshire, Northampton
Mike Hussey, Andre Nel, David Sales, Phil Jaques, Jeff Cook and Toby Baileyare all recalled by Northamptonshire, after that embarrassing midweek defeatagainst Cambridge UCCE. Neither Gerry Brophy or David Paynter are retained,despite both scoring centuries in that match. Chris Silverwood misses outfor Yorkshire, after an elbow injury flared up during the heavy defeat by Derbyshire.Somerset v Glamorgan, Taunton
Peter Bowler and Aaron Laraman return to the Somerset side at the expense ofKeith Dutch and Keith Parsons, who sat out that shock defeat by Scotland inthe National League. Jonathan Hughes, who scored a century against Somersetin a pre-season friendly, will make his first appearance of the season forGlamorgan. He replaces Andrew Davies.

An India A tour is usually an outlet for burgeoningaspiration and steep ambition, and the late-summerEnglish tour could prove decisive for many fringecricketers – something John Wright drove home on twoseparate occasions while helping out at the trainingcamp in Bangalore.In early June, Wright assured theIndia A squad that a lack of consistency inthe national side could cost any cricketer his place. His later comments were moreforceful, almost dismissive of domestic cricketers whoseemed defeatist about fighting their way into astar-packed team. “I have no time or place for playerswith an attitude like that … they need a kicking,”said Wright. “Anyone wanting to get into the team hasto believe that he can take Sachin Tendulkar or RahulDravid’s place.”Wright’s statement may seem mere encouraging rhetoric;Tendulkar and Dravid are already legends in their ownlifetime, and short of a concentrated charge ofexplosives, nothing looks likely to dislodge them fromthe side. But embedded as the two men may be, theline-up itself is far from settled. Potentially up forgrabs are two opening slots, the third fast bowler’sposition, as well as those of wicketkeeper-batsman,left-arm spinner and – despite Anil Kumble’s recent brave statements- legspinner.In the India A squad to tour England inJune-August, there are at least 10 players – out of 16- who could vie for those vacancies. GautamGambhir, Shiv Sunder Das and Wasim Jaffer are allcandidates for the top two slots and, indeed, haveopened for India in the past. The tour will bedecisive for Gambhir in particular; he hasconsistently racked up runs on A tours, and if he doeswell in England, the national selectors would find itdifficult to ignore him further, especially for a slotin which they are constantly making do with ad-hocsolutions.Four fast bowlers – L Balaji, Aavishkar Salvi, AmitBhandari and Irfan Pathan Jr – are realisticcontenders for a place in the pace attack, especiallysince Javagal Srinath looks quite decisively on theway out. Salvi shone with the A team in the WestIndies and, after playing in the TVS Cup, is perhapsthe most likely pick. But if Balaji – after numerousconsecutive Ranji five-wicket hauls – can bolster hisreputation with some sound bowling abroad, Salvi willface stiff competition.Murali Kartik and Amit Mishra too are ex-India caps,trying to winkle out a spinner’s role for themselves.Kartik’s talent is apparent, but in four Tests, he hasbowled only as many overs as Muttiah Muralitharansometimes bowls in a single game. Wickets inrelatively unfriendly English conditions may earn himthe recall – and confidence – he wants. When NewZealand tour India later this year, spin will be highon the selectors’ wishlist, and both Kartik and Mishrawould relish bowling against New Zealand at home.Parthiv Patel will also be under scrutiny. He may befirst-choice Test wicketkeeper at present, but he mustconsolidate his position with his batting, to whichend he has even been pushed up the order for thistour. With Rahul Dravid apparently not wanting to keepwicket any more in one-day internationals, that slotis also open – but the man who fills it must be acanny batsman.The Indian middle order is the hardest part of theline-up to break into. Hemang Badani did retain afairly regular one-day spot for some time, andAmbati Rayudu’s talent may even breach that rarefiedbastion of the Indian team.A tours are far and away the best method to getnoticed. Not only do the exposure and experience addto a player’s repertoire, but sterling performances inalien conditions will speak more eloquently than astring of domestic centuries. Ask Yuvraj Singh andMohammad Kaif, both of whom cut their teeth onage-group and India A tours rather than in the RanjiTrophy.

Cricket is famously fixated with highests, mosts, longests, quickests. The next eight days are all about firsts. First Test match ever played in Darwin. First game between Australia and Bangladesh. First time in living memory an Australian Test has started before 10am. And today was the first time Mohammad Latif, Bangladesh’s team manager, had ever heard of Wisden.”Wisden? What is this Wisden?” He inches forward in his chair, his smiling face wrinkling in confusion. “Well,” I explain, “it’s a … it’s a …”Can it really be that he’s not familiar with Wisden? “It’s a website and a magazine. And a really thick yellow book.”The average Bangladeshi household might know little of Wisden, but Wisden knows all about Bangladesh. In its latest edition the really thick yellow book documents no fewer than 30 Tests and one-day internationals involving the game’s most bankable whipping-boys. Twenty-nine ended in defeat, all of them comprehensive. “Nowhere near good enough,” scoffed one Wisden reporter. “Rootless domestic structure,” observed another. Bangladesh’s batsmen, it was noted, “lacked the technique and patience to counter quality bowling”. Their medium-pacers were “innocuous”.”It is very sad, you know,” says Latif. “We have won Test status by our strength, by playing good cricket. Our infrastructure is very good. We have under-13s, under-16s, under-19s. We have a development squad, a sports institute. Cricket is in our school curriculum. All over the country cricket is very, very popular. In every nook and corner Bangladeshis play cricket … All right, at the World Cup we did not do well – it doesn’t mean we should be criticised. I think they should encourage us.”Latif draws the same comparison everyone makes: New Zealand. It took the Kiwis 26 years before they finally won a Test. The difference, less frequently pointed out, is that New Zealand took two decades to play 20 Tests. Bangladesh will play their 20th next week, after a little over two years. Those easybeat New Zealand sides had time to regroup, rethink and remove the dead wood. For Bangladesh it’s another day, another match, another slaughter.”The more you play, the more experienced you are,” is the way Latif sees it. But isn’t all this too much too soon? “If you ask me, yes. Some more planning should have been done. We shouldn’t have jumped up so suddenly.” Better, he says, to have built up the domestic structure and started softly against Kenya, Zimbabwe and the like. “That way you can measure your strength. Then you go for South Africa or Australia, India or Pakistan. Slowly, gradually, you step forward.”The anti-Bangladesh carping has reached a crescendo since the team’s arrival. Dennis Lillee, in his consistently cantankerous newspaper column, said that for Australia this series equals easy runs, easy wickets, easy money. Other commentators have pleaded for the hosts, in a show of mercy, to field their B team (which would be, in fact, what cricket confusingly calls it’s A team). David Hookes believes the opposite, urging the Australians to clean up the Test in one day. Another first.”The players have taken the criticisms very boldly,” says Latif. “They have said: ‘That’s OK, we are going to show what we can achieve.’ In one or two years we will definitely come up. Definitely. Soon after this Australian tour you will see the positives. In fact we are already seeing it.”Today they fielded sharply and bowled tidily enough, as a Northern Territory Chief Minister’s XI sputtered along at around 1.5 runs an over. Last week they successfully hauled in 230 to beat an Australian academy side. And their net workouts have been “excellent sessions, excellent”. A sports psychologist addressed team practice on Wednesday. Dav Whatmore, their coach, slogged outfield catches and the team’s bus driver tossed forward some rudimentary throwdowns. Intensity was low, enthusiasm high. They have the strut of schoolboys – seven of the 15 players are 21 or under – but the smiles of winners.Besides, what do they have to frown about? Those snide putdowns are just so much newspaper talk from smarmy southerners. Up here, in Australia’s tropical north, the local folk offer nothing but praise. They buttonhole the players in the street, grasp their hands, wish them well. And the weather is as warm as the people. It might be the cool season but the mid-afternoon breeze still slaps you hard in the face. Just like back home, which is – reassuringly – only a six-and-a-half hour flight away.”You cannot expect Bangladesh to win or anything like that,” Latif admits. “But we are going to play very positive. In the one-day matches we must bat for 50 overs. In the Tests we must remain at the crease for five days. That will be a big thing for us.” It would also, appropriately, be something of a first.Speaking of firsts, Michael Clarke – who is leading the Chief Minister’s XI – endured his first ever press conference as a captain on Wednesday. This was a moment of seismic historical significance, for Clarke is the odds-on favourite to be Australia’s skipper a decade from now. It was a promising beginning. He grinned obligingly. He spouted the usual guff about the ground being in fantastic shape and the pitch looking good. He also, in keeping with the local dress code, wore white rubber flip-flops on his feet.That was another first – and almost certainly a last.Chris Ryan is a former managing editor of Wisden Cricket Monthly and a former Darwin correspondent of the Melbourne Age.

Close South Africa 398 for 1 (Gibbs 179, Smith 178*) v England
Scorecard

Heavy rain, which started in the early hours, gave England some respite from the mauling they received on the opening day of the first npower Test against South Africa at Edgbaston. The covers remained in place throughout the day, festooned with puddles, until play was officially abandoned for the day at 3.15pm. A few hardy spectators had sat huddled under umbrellas – most had heard the forecast and stayed at home.Umpire Venkataraghavan explained that, although the rain had at last stopped, the lack of breeze in Birmingham was hampering the mopping-up operation. It would have taken at least three hours to get the outfield fit for a resumption. The time lost today, however, will be recouped over the coming days, so England need not get too excited by their change of fortune just yet.South Africa’s captain, Graeme Smith, who will eventually resume on 178, told reporters that comments by Nasser Hussain that all was not well within the South African camp had galvanised his team. “It definitely does play a role in motivating you,” Smith said. “We thought those comments were a lot of rubbish. We took those to heart.”Duncan Fletcher, England’s coach, admitted that Thursday hadn’t been a good day. “It was one of those wickets where the bowlers had to keep their lines and lengths and had to be precise,” he explained. “They were probably a bit positive, coming in and thinking, ‘let’s bowl the batters’ out’. In one-day cricket the batter comes at you and in Test cricket it’s not quite the same. Our bowlers didn’t realise how important it was to keep those tight lines and lengths and from now we will have to try and contain them for periods of time and create pressure that way. They’re all pretty attacking bowlers and on that wicket they should probably have gone a little bit more into defensive mode.”Click here for the first day’s Bulletin
Click here for the first day’s Wisden Verdict

October just got tougher for sports widows in New Zealand.Having realised with the Rugby World Cup being played in Australia in October-November, in prime time viewing slots in New Zealand, and with the national provincial rugby championship continuing for much of October, it was already a tough month, but they are now being hit from another direction.SKY Television have announced that they are going to have full coverage of New Zealand’s tour of India, two Tests and the tri-series which also involves Australia, it looks like being a bleak month around the house and in the gardens of New Zealand.SKY’s cricket spokesman Martin Crowe said today that it was most likely Ian Smith would be New Zealand’s representative on the commentary team for the coverage.No word has yet been received on whether the Pakistan leg of the tour, involving five one-day internationals will be covered on television in New Zealand.