Cricket: BT Sport secure live 2017/18 Ashes television rights

BT Sport has signed England cricket legends Michael Vaughan, Graeme Swann, Kevin Pietersen and Australian great Ricky Ponting to offer expert analysis to kick off its international cricket coverage. Greg James, BBC Radio 1 presenter and co-host of Not Just Cricket on BBC Radio 5 live, will front the coverage on BT Sport with award winning Test Match Special reporter Alison Mitchell based in Australia.

BT Sport is now the home of all Australia’s Test Matches, One-Day Internationals and T20 Internationals played in Australia, including the much anticipated Ashes Test Series against England in 2017/18. BT Sport will also broadcast the hugely successful T20 Big Bash League, the Women’s Big Bash League and the Women’s Ashes series.

This winter will see BT Sport broadcast multiple series against leading nations South Africa, New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka with live coverage of all six Tests, eight One-Day Internationals and three T20 Internationals followed by a daily highlights programme.

The coverage kicks off on 3 November, with Australia and South Africa going head to head in the first test, and will be presented by Greg James, with expert analysis from Ashes-winning captain Michael Vaughan, former England off spinner Graeme Swann and Australia’s all-time leading run-scorer and ex-skipper Ricky Ponting. Kevin Pietersen will be providing expert comment and analysis alongside reporter Alison Mitchell in Australia.   

This December BT Sport will also begin its coverage of the Big Bash League and Women’s Big Bash League. Big Bash highlights will be shown on BT’s freeview channel, BT Sport Showcase.  

Simon Green, head of BT Sport, said: “We’re excited to be adding international cricket including next winter’s much anticipated exciting Ashes series, and the hugely successful Australian Big Bash, to the line-up of exclusively live sport available to BT Sport viewers. I hope viewers will enjoy our cricket coverage and we’re thrilled that Greg James is joining BT Sport along with some of the greatest players of recent times.”

BT Sport’s coverage will be produced by Sunset & Vine.