MUMBAI: Cricket Australia has renewed its media rights agreement with UK sportscaster Sky Sports by extending the association for a further four years.

The Sky Sports deal includes all broadcast, mobile and internet rights. Excluded from the Sky Sports agreement are audio-only rights in the UK and CA will commence separate negotiations for this rights package in due course.

The new agreement includes all rights for international and Australian domestic cricket, including the coveted Ashes in 2013-14 and every game of the KFC T20 Big Bash League.

Spanning the 2012-13 to 2015-16 seasons, Sky Sports will provide viewers in the UK as well as some European countries with exclusive live coverage of Australia?s international home series featuring: South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies (2012-13), England (2013-14), South Africa, India, England (2014-15), and New Zealand, West Indies, India (2015-16).

In addition, Sky Sports has rights to broadcast matches from Australia?s domestic competitions including the KFC T20 Big Bash League, Ryobi Cup and women?s tournaments.

Cricket Australia Chief Executive Officer James Sutherland welcomed the extension of the long term partnership: "Sky Sports has been a long term and valued partner of Australian cricket for more than 20 years and we are thrilled to extend our association with them," he said.

"Sky Sports depth and breadth of cricket coverage in the UK is unparalleled across multiple platforms. We want fans to have the best possible coverage of Australian cricket content, wherever they live, and we are confident that Sky will deliver with its expertise and knowledge of the game."

Sky Sports MD Barney Francis said, "The Ashes is one of world sport?s greatest events. Sky Sports has never offered greater depth and breadth of coverage and this renewal gives us the strongest line up of live sport for our viewers to watch at home or on the move."

Sutherland said while the commercial details of the agreement would not be disclosed, the value of this new and significant deal reflected the strength of cricket and reinforced the value of one of sport?s most iconic contests, the Ashes.

"England tours Australia twice in the next four year period, including an Ashes series in 2013-14, and no doubt these are jewels in the crown for our renewal with Sky Sports," he said.

CA had last year extended broadcast rights partnership with ESPN Star Sports till 2016.

"Over the past two years CA has renewed agreements in every major cricket territory in the world including New Zealand, Asia, South Africa, the United States and how the United Kingdom and these partnerships have and will put Australian cricket in a strong position both financially and in terms of excellent cricket coverage for fans.

"We have one major media rights agreement to complete the backbone of our broadcast portfolio, and that is in the Australian market. We want to deliver the best results for cricket fans and our members, that?s our objective."

MUMBAI: IMG Media, a division of IMG Worldwide, has secured long-term media rights deals with BSkyB, the UK?s leading sports broadcaster for both Cricket Australia and Cricket South Africa.

The separate deals with the cricket boards will see England?s tour matches in Australia and South Africa shown on Sky Sports until 2016 and 2020 respectively.

IMG Asia Pacific SVP and Head of IMG Media said, "We are delighted to have concluded these deals. Sky Sports is the leading broadcaster of cricket in the UK and Ireland and they were intent on strengthening their year round coverage of the game, especially with England?s forthcoming Ashes Tour in Australia next year and tours to South Africa, the current top Test team in the world, in 2015 and 2019."

Sky Sports MD Barney Francis said, "The Ashes is one of world sport?s greatest events and we can now guarantee the next three series, home and away. Test cricket has always been core to Sky Sports and as England look to take the Test crown back from South Africa our viewers can see their next two series over there. This series of rights renewals gives us the strongest line up of live sport for our viewers to watch at home or on the move."

In addition to the Ashes series in Australia, the four-year deal for Sky Sports includes Australia?s home series with South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies, India and New Zealand, plus Australia?s domestic Twenty20 Big Bash League.

Apart from England?s two tours of South Africa, Sky Sports deal includes the Test series against New Zealand, Pakistan, India, West Indies, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, plus domestic Twenty20 matches.

MUMBAI: Geoff Allardice has been appointed to the position of ICC General Manager- Cricket to succeed David Richardson, who has been promoted to ICC chief executive.

For the past decade, Geoff has worked with Cricket Australia, most recently as the ?General Manager, Cricket Operations?. Geoff played first class cricket for Victoria.

David Richardson said: "Geoff has a wealth of knowledge and experience gained during his time with Cricket Australia. I am looking forward to working with him and deploying his undoubted talent at the ICC. He is a great addition to our Team."

MUMBAI: The five day ICC Annual Conference in Kuala Lumpur will see a change of guard in the top hierarchy of the game?s world governing body with Sharad Pawar making way for New Zealand?s Alan Isaac to take charge as president.

Pawar, who completes his two-year term at the end of the week, was the second Indian after Jagmohan Dalmiya to take a shot at the post. During his tenure, he oversaw the successful organising of the 2011 ICC World Cup in the sub-continent.

The conference, which begins 24 June, will also see incumbent Haroon Lorgat stepping down as the chief executive of the ICC. Lorgat was appointed chief executive of the ICC in April 2008 succeeding Malcolm Speed, an Australian.

The ICC Annual Conference will begin with the Chief Executives? Committee (CEC) meeting at the Shangri-La Hotel in Kuala Lumpur and ends on 28 June with the inauguration of the eighth ICC President, Alan Isaac, at the Annual Conference.

The ICC Council, at its meeting on 28 June, will be asked to approve amendments to the ICC Articles which will create the post of Chairman from June 2014 with the President?s role being ambassadorial from that date onwards, the ICC said in a statement.

David Richardson has been selected as the chief executive of ICC, his appointment requires confirmation from the CEC. Prior to being appointed as the chief executive, Richardson served ICC as GM of Cricket.

The ICC Associate and Affiliate Members meeting on 25 June will elect their three representatives to serve two-year terms on the ICC Board, the statement added.

On the agenda of the CEC meeting are recommendations from the ICC Cricket Committee which include the reaffirmation of the universal application of the Decision Review System (DRS), minor enhancements to the 50-over format and, importantly, discussions on the protection and promotion of international cricket within a changed landscape that is showing a growing number of domestic professional T20 leagues.

The ICC Board, which will meet on 26 and 27 June, will receive various reports and recommendations emanating from Board sub-committees and the CEC.

Among these will be the annual report from the chairman of ACSU, membership issues including applications for ICC Affiliate Membership from Russia and Hungary.

The Board will also continue its discussions, which have been ongoing since the last meeting among the directors and Members, on the Woolf report and further consider the strategies being developed to protect and promote all three formats of the game at the international level.