UK pay-television broadcaster BSkyB will provide live coverage of a women’s cricket Test match for the first time when England hosts Australia in the 2015 Ashes.
Every ball of the multi-format series will be shown on Sky Sports, with three 50-over one-day internationals and as many Twenty20 games taking place either side of the four-day Test match at Kent on August 11-14.
The England and Wales Cricket Board’s head of England women’s cricket, Clare Connor, said: “It has already been a remarkable year of firsts for England women’s cricket – the first crop of 18 players to receive professional contracts, alongside the first standalone commercial sponsorship deal with Kia.
“The level of broadcast coverage that the England women’s team now gets is exceptional, and I am thrilled that the ECB, in partnership with Sky Sports, continues to lead the way in this respect within international women’s team sport. It is this level of exposure and support that will ensure that the women’s game continues to grow, and that will inspire the next generation of England women’s cricketers.”
The winners of each limited overs game will receive two points, with four for a win and two apiece for a draw in the Test. The winning haul for the Test match has been reduced from the six points awarded when England won the previous two multi-format Ashes by margins of 12-4 and 10-8 respectively.