UK public-service broadcaster the BBC has acquired highlights rights to the England cricket team’s Test and one-day international matches this summer, while it has also agreed a deal to cover the V-Series Women’s Tour virtual cycling event later this month.
Test and ODI highlights will be shown on BBC Two from July. It will mark the first time that Test match cricket has been shown on BBC television in over 20 years.
Highlights will begin with England’s three-match Test series against the West Indies, which is scheduled to begin on July 8 and run until July 28. The first two Tests will take place at Hampshire’s Ageas Bowl, with the second and third Tests to be held at Manchester’s Old Trafford ground.
The BBC will then show any further matches throughout the summer once the international cricket calendar is confirmed. So far, the West Indies tour is the only series that has been confirmed.
Radio coverage of all international games will be provided by Test Match Special on 5 Live sports Extra, while the BBC Sport website will provide video clips of standout moments as they happen.
Additionally, BBC One will air a documentary entitled ‘One Day’ on July 12, looking back on England’s Cricket World Cup win last summer and the Wimbledon tennis final between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, which took place on the same day. BBC Two will also air highlights of classic matches between England and the West Indies every weekend in June.
Meanwhile, the BBC will show online coverage of the V-Series Women’s Tour, which will run from June 17-19.
The event, which will see riders and teams compete in three stages on the RGT Cycling virtual platform, will be shown at 7pm BST on the BBC Sport website, app and BBC iPlayer.
The coverage will be supported by “exciting innovations” to provide viewers with more insight into the event. The races will also be shown live via the Women’s Tour website and YouTube channel.
The first two stages of the event will be raced on RGT Cycling’s ‘Magic Roads’ software and will feature classic routes from the past six editions of the Women’s Tour. The first stage will replicate the 2014 stage to Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, with the second stage replicating the finish from 2019’s hill-top finale at Burton Dassett in Warwickshire.
The final stage will take place around 35 laps of a 1km circuit in the Canary Wharf district of London. This stage features as one of RGT Cycling’s ‘Real Roads’.
Viewers will also be given the chance to ride the three routes themselves with a suggested donation of £5 to raise money for Breast Cancer Now and Mind.