…except hockey. Coming just a day too late to cash on traffic generated by the weekend exploits of Monty Panesar (above) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, ESPN has completed their latest acquisition reports the Guardian’s Jemima Kiss.

Disney’s US sports network ESPN has acquired cricket website Cricinfo for an undisclosed sum.

The 14-year-old Cricinfo operation was one of the first content sites on the internet and has built a loyal following among cricket fans. Cricinfo has a global audience of 7 million unique users each month, publishing news, interviews, live scores, match animations and video coverage. Cricinfo also publishes content for news portals and for mobile phone.

SPN will keep the Cricinfo brand separate and could begin to expand its video content to develop Cricinfo.tv, according to an open letter from Sambit Bal, the editor, on the website today.

Mr Bal said the lead-up to the acquisition had been fraught, but insisted the site would retain its independence.

“To all of us who love cricket, Cricinfo is a phenomenon, a cult, a faith. It is one of the true wonders of the internet,” he said.

“It owes its inception to passion, ingenuity and innovation and its survival and growth is a triumph of the entrepreneurial spirit that infected everyone who came in touch with it,” he added.

All of which is a very long-winded way of saying Mr. Bal’s resignation will coincide with Bill Simmons’ 25,000 word Cricinfo debut comparing Dave Graveney to M.L. Carr.