The UK independent TV sports production and media company, Sunset+Vine will assist in providing host broadcast services in partnership with the International Cricket Council (ICC) for the inaugural ICC World Test Championship Final 2021. India and New Zealand meet in a one-Test final at the Hampshire Bowl in Southampton, England, starting Friday 18 June.

The ICC World Test Championship Final will be an interesting challenge not just for the participants – who arrived in the UK on chartered planes and are in a bio-secure environment in Southampton – but for the host broadcast team too. The team of over 100 people will also be required to stay and work in the bio-secure environment in Southampton in the lead up to the tournament. That team includes a world-class commentary panel drawn from five Test-playing nations.

As the ICC’s global production services partner Sunset+Vine, with ICCTV, will be providing exciting and innovative coverage for this landmark fixture. The output will include a World Feed service available to rights holders worldwide as well as an innovative English language World Feed Programme conceived and delivered by ICC TV and Sunset+Vine’s world-renowned editorial team, who have several years cricket experience and story-telling expertise behind them.

As well as the live match coverage, the output will include a 30-minute pre-game show, full lunch and tea-time programmes and a post-game show. The Sunset+Vine content support will also include a special 60-minute Official Film post event. The portfolio of programming will build on the enormous success of the host broadcast of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in the summer of 2019.

The ICC TV production will include a total of 34 cameras including a drone, Buggycam and Spidercam. Umpiring and analysis for broadcast will be provided through the integration of Hawk-Eye as well as CricViz and Player Tracking.

‘This is a hugely-exciting tournament and our team at Sunset+Vine along with our colleagues at ICCTV have been planning the production for many months,’ says Sunset+Vine Head of Cricket Huw Bevan. ‘We will bring the same hallmark qualities of editorial flair and authenticity to the production that we apply to all of our sports productions as we tell the story of the world’s best cricketing nations coming together to fight for the title.’

The ICC World Test Championship Final is part of a range of events contracted to Sunset+Vine over a four-year period as the ICC’s production services partner. Other events include the Men’s and Women’s Cricket World Cups, T20 World Cups and Under 19s World Cups.

‘Cricket has been part of the fabric of Sunset+Vine for more than 20 years,’ said Sunset+Vine Chairman Jeff Foulser. ‘We innovated with the coverage of the sport on Channel 4 in the UK when we helped to introduce Hawk-Eye, and we have developed our coverage to the point where many of the world’s broadcasters now take our ready-to-air coverage and put it straight to air which is exciting at moments like the Super Over of 2019 when England won a thrilling World Cup.’