HAMPSHIRE cricket legend Colin Ingleby-Mackenzie has hit out at the "short-sighted" decision to award Sky Sports the right to broadcast all international cricket from 2006.

The new four-year agreement announced by the ECB means that England Tests will no longer be available to terrestrial television - the outcome which many in the game had feared.

However, Five will show highlights of all home matches - discounting day-nighters.

Action from every day's play, apart from day/night games, will be shown at the peak time evening slot of 7.15pm-8.00pm on Five.

Ingleby-Mackenzie, pictured above, groaned: "For those of us who work to raise money for youth cricket it feels like a slap in the face for it goes against everything we are trying to achieve.

"Not everyone has Sky and the great pity is that future generations of young cricket fans could be deprived of seeing their heroes live on television.

"It is such a pity that money is the great god these days and everything goes to the highest bidder, and I fear that it may be a shortsighted decision.

"My greatest fear is that we will lose out on new blood coming into the sport and once they are gone we may not get them back."