The 2014 ICC World Twenty20 gets under way in Bangladesh and Sky Sports will show extensive live coverage as the cricketing world turns its eyes to the most explosive tournament in international cricket.
A total of 62 matches from the men’s and women’s tournaments will be played across 22 days in three cities – Chittagong, Dhaka and Sylhet – from March 16 to April 6.
The West Indies triumphed in the last edition of the competition in Sri Lanka 18 months ago, when they silenced the host nation in the final to land their first T20 international title in Colombo.
Thanks to star players such as Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine, who all honed their skills in sub-continent conditions in the Indian Premier League, the West Indies transferred their talents onto to the main stage in Sri Lanka, helping them taste glory on the world stage for the first time since their ICC Champions Trophy triumph in 2004.
For 2014, the format for the men’s event has been changed following an increase in teams from 12 to 16 in order to bring more emerging nations into the T20 international fold.
As the teams’ seeding are based on the world rankings from the last World Twenty20, the top eight sides will play directly in the Super 10 stage, while 2014 hosts Bangladesh along with Zimbabwe, who finished outside the top eight, will participate in the opening group phase that will be held from 16-21 March.
The first round of the men’s event will include eight sides and twelve matches, with the teams divided into two groups of four teams each, with the table-toppers progressing to the Super 10 stage.
For many, the tournament will not properly kick off until the Super 10 stage, which starts on March 21 with the mouth-watering clash between former champions India and Pakistan in Dhaka.
A further 19 matches in total will be played in this stage in which the top two teams in each group will progress to the semi-finals.
England will be hoping for success despite mounting injury worries which include Joe Root, who is ruled out of the tournament, Ben Stokes and captain Stuart Broad, who is fighting to be fit.
The skipper will be turning to the likes of Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler to provide the runs as they look to shrug off their series defeat to the West Indies, who may well be in contention to retain their title.
But competition will be fierce with countless challengers from the world of cricket on the horizon.
A rejuvenated Australia destroyed England in the Ashes and are carrying that form into the tournament, while Sri Lanka are historically suited to the shorter forms of the game.
But with talismanic batsmen Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara 37 and 36 respectively, they may be reliant on discovering a new star to carry them all the way back to the top of the format.
For South Africa, the exquisite hitting of Hashim Amla at the top of the order has the potential to swing any game in their favour, while New Zealand’s Ross Taylor is capable of dismantling the very best of bowling attacks.
Twenty20 fanatics and current 50-over world champions India provide an interesting proposition to this tournament.
With their legendary batting order slipping one-by-one into retirement, they may look to a new breed of Test players led by dreamy technician Cheteshwar Pujara – while wily limited-overs specialist Yuvraj Singh is also pushing for selection.
Pakistan will also pose a threat, while, of the group qualifiers, the likes of Ireland, the Netherlands, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates will have to upset the odds to stand any chance of making the latter stages.
All the action starts on March 16 and you can see every ball of every game live on Sky Sports, who will be provide full coverage of all 35 televised matches from the competition, including selected warm-up fixtures, every match from the tournament proper and the semi-finals/final of the women’s event.
On radio, BBC’s Test Match Special will have commentary on the ICC World Twenty20 from the Super 10 stage onwards on Radio 5 live Sports Extra, and the semi-finals and final of theWomen’s World Twenty20.
Follow the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 in Bangladesh on Sky Sports:
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Sky Sports has all the excitement and spectacle of the 2014 ICC World Twenty in Bangladesh exclusively live between March 16 and April 6.
All 35 matches in the men’s tournament, plus four of the warm-up matches in Mirpur, will be broadcast live on Sky Sports 2 and in high-definition, as well as both semi-finals and the final of the women’s competition.
Ian Ward, Charles Colville and Matt Floyd will share presenting duties for every game from Sky Sports’ new custom-made studio which will be its base for all its live and highlights programming.
The studio features the popular elements from Sky’s Ashes coverage last year, including full-length indoor nets in the Sky Zone as well as the Sky Cart, allowing the channel’s team of pundits to take viewers to the heart of the action and dissect the analysis and statistics from every game.
Expert analysis in the studio will be provided from Sky Sports regulars Michael Atherton and David Lloyd, who will be alongside an array of current and former stars.
These include former England internationals Marcus Trescothick, Mark Butcher, Rob Key, West Indian all-rounder Kieron Pollard and Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh, who will all analyse the action and address the big talking points from each match.
Alongside the live action, cricket fans can catch up on the action they may have missed by watching Sky Sports’ match day highlights programme ‘ICC World T20 Zone’.
As with all ICC events, Sky Sports will take the live match coverage provided by host broadcaster Star Sports, with the TV production for the event one of the most sophisticated undertaken.
In total, 28 cameras will be used to cover every moment of the action, including seven ultra-motion cameras, Spidercam as well as graphics with key analysis tools, all of which will take the viewer right to the heart of the on-field action.
A host of legendary names from the world of cricket will be on hand to provide expert commentary on proceedings, including Ravi Shastri, Sanjay Manjrekar, Shaun Pollock, Ian Bishop, Sourav Ganguly, Shane Warne, Rameez Raja, Wasim Akram, Russel Arnold, Nick Knight, Nasser Hussain, Harsha Bhogle, Jonty Rhodes, Pommie Mbangwa, Athar Ali Khan, Danny Morrison, Alan Wilkins and Brian Murgatroyd.
Representing Sky Sports on the international commentary roster will be Nasser Hussain and Nick Knight, while Isa Guha, Alison Mitchell and Melanie Jones will call the women’s matches.
All of Sky Sports’ coverage will be available to watch in high-definition and fans needn’t miss a ball on the move with Sky Go, or you can follow the action on Twitter via @SkyCricket.
Text commentary from every match, plus and all the latest news, video and blogs from the Sky Sports team, will be available via skysports.com/cricket.
In addition, Sky Sports will also broadcast a special interview with England batsman Jonathan Trott on the opening day of the tournament (March 16).
Speaking publicly for the first time since he came home from Australia, the 32-year-old batsman talks about how he he was left with no other option but to leave the tour after the opening Test of England’s humiliating Ashes whitewash in the winter.
‘Jonathan Trott: Burn Out’ will be shown at 7.00pm on Sky Sports 1 on Sunday, March 16.
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