India v England: Channel 4 to broadcast tour for first live free-to-air Test coverage since 2005
- Published
Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Rory Burns arrived in India separately from the rest of the England squad and began training while the others were in quarantine
First Test: India v England |
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Venue: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai Date: 5-9 Feb Time: 04:00 GMT |
Coverage: Live text commentary plus analysis and debate on The Cricket Social on the BBC Sport website and app. Daily Test Match Special podcasts |
Channel 4 will broadcast England's upcoming tour of India - marking the first live coverage of Test cricket on terrestrial television since the 2005 Ashes.
The first Test of the four-match series starts in Chennai on Friday.
On Monday, England were cleared to leave quarantine in India after the squad tested negative for Covid-19.
It will be the first full broadcast on terrestrial TV of an England overseas Test series.
Some sessions of the 1986-87 Ashes series in Australia were shown live on the BBC.
Last summer, highlights from England's home Tests and one-day internationals were broadcast on the BBC, with live coverage of two men's Twenty20 internationals and one women's T20 international.
England's Jofra Archer said he was pleased to see Test cricket returning to a wider audience, and thinks it will be especially important for children.
"Anyone you can inspire, it helps the next generation," said Archer. "It's good to have it back on a huge platform."
Talksport have ball-by-ball radio rights, while BBC Sport will have live text commentary each day on the BBC Sport website from 03:25 GMT, including discussion and analysis in the Cricket Social which starts at 06:30.
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