Summary: Good news for cricket fans in England! Four of England’s Twenty20 (T20) cricket matches played at home each year will now be shown on a free TV channel called Channel 5. This means more people can watch these exciting games without needing a paid subscription.
Cricket on Free TV: More England T20s for Everyone!
Cricket fans in England will now get to watch some of their home T20 international matches on free television. Channel 5 has made a new agreement with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to show four of these matches every year for the next four years.
These four matches – two men’s games and two women’s games – used to be shown on the BBC. Now, they will be available on Channel 5 and also through their online streaming service, 5. For those who subscribe to Sky Sports, the matches will still be available there, as Sky Sports shows all of England’s home games.
Channel 5 will also offer online highlights of the T20 Blast, which is a popular domestic T20 competition in England.
The first match to be shown on Channel 5 will be the women’s T20 game between England and West Indies in Chelmsford on Monday.
Other upcoming matches on the channel include:
- England men vs. West Indies on Sunday, June 8
- Nat Sciver-Brunt’s England women vs. India on Saturday, June 28
- England men vs. South Africa on Sunday, September 14
The BBC, another major broadcaster, also recently signed a new deal with the ECB. This deal includes highlights of all international matches (both Test and limited-overs) across their TV channels, iPlayer (their online service), and the BBC Sport website. The BBC Sport website and app will also have short video clips of all matches as they happen. Additionally, the BBC will show live TV coverage of eight double-header matches each season of The Hundred, which is a new cricket tournament.
For radio listeners, the BBC’s “Test Match Special” will continue to provide commentary for all home international matches until at least 2028. They also have a new four-year agreement to broadcast men’s and women’s county cricket, which are domestic matches within England.
Editor’s Note: This article has been adapted from an Associated Press news report published on the BBC Sport website. The original content has been rephrased for a general audience in India, focusing on simplicity and removing technical jargon. All key facts, direct quotes, and reported figures remain unchanged. Local relief efforts are not relevant to this specific news item.
