CricketEurope expands its operation into South America with the launch of its new CricketEurope Argentina site. The new site will follow the pattern of CricketEurope's other national sections - for Ireland, The Netherlands and Scotland - by providing extensive coverage of both international and domestic cricket, including extensive photographic and live match coverage.

The initiative, which will provide a global window for Argentine cricket, is a joint venture between CricketEurope and the Argentine Cricket Association (Cricket Argentina) with locally-based personnel providing most of the content for the site.

To mark the launch there will be live ball-by-ball coverage direct from Buenos Aires of the historic three day fixture between North and South. This will be the 110th match of a series which dates back to 1891 - but the first with a worldwide audience.

CricketEurope Managing Editor John Elder had this to say:

"We are delighted to be embarking on this venture with the Argentine Cricket Association. Three of us from CricketEurope were in Buenos Aires recently to provide coverage of the World Cricket League tournament and we were struck by the great enthusiasm and drive of everyone we met there.

"During the fortnight we developed a strong rapport with the ACA personnel who worked with us and that convinced us that a mutually beneficial long-term relationship could be developed between the two organisations.

"We hope to be able to bring extensive coverage of cricket in Argentina to our ever-expanding worldwide audience - and, hopefully, this global exposure will act as a motivation for the up and coming generation of Argentinian cricketers.

"It is fitting that our first live coverage of a domestic match in Argentina should take place from Belgrano CC, which is undoubtedly one of the best appointed venues in any non-Test country."

Ricardo Lord, the President of the Argentine Cricket Association, said:

"We are very pleased to have agreed a partnership with CricketEurope, and we have no doubt that by working together the benefits will be enormous for cricket in Argentina. It is very important that we promote knowledge and awareness of cricket in Argentina, not just locally but also internationally.

"As a professional and highly respected source of cricket information and news, CricketEurope was for us a perfect choice to help us in our goal of growing the game through the internet and wider media. We look forward to promoting cricket in Argentina together for a long long time."

There was this reaction from ICC Americas Regional Development Officer Grant Dugmore:

"It is extremely pleasing to see the Argentine Cricket Association initiative in forging a partnership with CricketEurope as they strive to promote the game in Argentina domestically and internationally, and I'm sure the results for both will only be positive.

"Argentine cricket has a tremendous challenge in breaking into the Argentina and Latin American media markets, made even more difficult by the massive popularity of football, language barriers and relative geographical isolation in the cricket world. I'm sure this partnership will be a great boost for maintaining a spotlight on cricket activities development in Argentina and South America."