Sky to show Ireland game

Ireland's inaugural match in the C&G Trophy, against defending champions Hampshire in Dublin on April 23, will be Sky Sports' first live domestic cricket fixture of the 2006 season.

The following week, Sky Sports will be showing coverage of Scotland's C&G clash against Warwickshire meaning that both C&G debutants will be seen live within a week of the start of the domestic season.

Barney Francis, Sky Sports' executive producer for cricket said: ?We always like to start with the defending champions and when the fixture computer brought Ireland out of the bag it was the dream scenario.

"The game presents a fantastic chance for Sky Sports viewers to see very early on what Ireland's admission to the C&G Trophy will bring, plus the agonising prospect of a potential banana skin for defending champions Hampshire. "I'm sure the Irish will be determined to put on a good show having recently qualified for World Cup 2007," he added.

In 2006, Sky Sports will be broadcasting all international and domestic cricket in England and Wales, including exclusively live coverage of every Test and One-Day International and each of the domestic competitions, as part of its new deal with the ECB.