MUMBAI: The BBC has secured the rights to broadcast the television highlights of the 2007 Cricket World Cup, which will be held in the Caribbean.

This marks the return of cricket to BBC television screens after a nine-year break.

The tournament will be held in March - April 2007 and the key highlights from all the main matches will be shown on BBC2 in the UK.

BBC director of sport Roger Mosey was quoted in media reports as saying that he was delighted to welcome back televised cricket. "Alongside our live commentaries on radio and our service online, this is a further demonstration of our commitment to the sport. The BBC is delighted to be returning to televised cricket after a long break for one of the highlights of the sports calendar. This shows the BBC is committed to cricket on television, on radio and online," he was quoted as saying.

In total, the BBC will be showing 29 hours of cricket highlights.

BBC director of television Jana Bennett was quoted as saying, "We are looking forward to broadcasting what will be a fantastic festival of cricket and the chance to bring new audiences to what I am sure will be a great late night highlights programme."

The teams that will be competing in the 2007 Cricket World Cup will also include England, Scotland and Ireland apart from other teams.