BBC Sport has announced its TV coverage plans for the 2021 English cricket season, which will be headlined by live coverage of four England T20 international matches and up to 18 live matches from the new Hundred competition.
The corporation returned to televising English cricket last summer for the first time in over 20 years as part ofmulti-year rights deal, broadcasting free-to-air highlights of every England Test, ODI and T20I, as well as selected live England T20 matches and the Hundred.
As in 2020, the BBC’s TV coverage will be led by presenter Isa Guha, who will front Today at the Test, as well as ODI and T20 highlights, throughout the summer on BBC Two, bringing all the latest highlights every evening from 7pm (excluding day/night matches).
Coverage begins in June with England men’s two-Test series against New Zealand, which will be followed by a five-test series against India in August and September.
Alongside Guha on the BBC TV’s test match team will be former England Ashes-winning captain Michael Vaughan, England’s record Test run-scorer Sir Alastair Cook, award-winning commentator Alison Mitchell, former England spinner Phil Tufnell and former England batter Mark Ramprakash.
In addition, the BBC’s veteran cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew will also be a regular member of the TV highlights team throughout the summer.
T20I and ODI highlights will also be shown on BBC Two, with 2009 World Cup winner Ebony Rainford-Brent and the world’s most successful Test cricket fast bowler James Anderson taking BBC viewers through the action as England take on Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
The BBC’s four live England T20 internationals – two men’s and two women’s games, which they will simulcast alongside Sky Sports – will be the second men’s T20I against Sri Lanka on 24 June, followed by the second England v Pakistan T20I on 18 July, while the women’s matches to be covered live include the third T20I v India in July and the opening match against New Zealand on 1 September.
As well live international cricket, headlining the BBC’s cricket coverage in late-July and August will be the new Hundred competition with up to 18 matches live across the BBC.
The opening men’s and women’s matches from the new 100-ball format will be shown live on BBC TV, as well as both finals of the inaugural competition.
In total, 10 men’s games and up to eight from the women’s event will be broadcast live throughout the summer, with matches set feature across the weekends throughout the tournament on BBC Two, as BBC One’s schedules are set to be dominated by coverage of the Tokyo Olympics. All of the BBC’s live Hundred matches will also be simulcast on Sky Sports.
Of the 10 men’s matches set to be shown, BBC TV will broadcast live coverage of both of the London derbies between London Spirit and Oval Invincibles, as well as Ben Stokes’ Northern Superchargers home clash against Birmingham Phoenix.
Further BBC coverage plans for The Hundred, including presenting and commentary line-ups, plus details of the remaining live women’s matches to be shown live, will be announced in due course.
As well as regular TV coverage across a busy sporting summer, BBC iPlayer will have a host of highlights on offer, including the women’s Test and white ball games against India and their series against New Zealand.
The BBC Sport website –bbc.co.uk/cricket– and app will cover every international game via online reports, live text commentary, special features and in-play clips, including the ICC World Test Championship Final in June. Additionally, the BBC Sport website and app will offer ball-by-ball commentary of all County matches.
Commenting on the BBC’s coverage of the 2021 cricket season, Barbara Slater, the BBC’s director of sport, said:
“We’re thrilled to bring a wealth of top class domestic and international cricket across BBC TV, radio and online to the nation this summer. With a mix of new cricket competition The Hundred along with Test cricket, T20s and ODIs we will deliver all of the twists and turns of the cricket season and bring fans straight to the heart of the action.”
As well as comprehensive TV and online coverage, Test Match Special on BBC Radio 5 live Sports Extra will broadcast ball-by-ball commentary on all England’s men’s and women’s international games plus the inaugural World Test Championship Final.
Jonathan Agnew will lead the commentary team which includes Isa Guha, Simon Mann, Alison Mitchell, Daniel Norcross and Aatif Nawaz.
Podcast offerings throughout the summer on BBC Sounds will include the regular TMS podcast, the Tuffers and Vaughan show and Tailenders with Greg James, Felix White and James Anderson. The fan favourite No Balls podcast, featuring England World Cup winner Alex Hartley and England bowler Kate Cross, will also come to the BBC offering a unique perspective on the game.
BBC local radio will provide coverage of every ball of men’s county cricket so listeners can follow the very latest action from the grounds across the UK.
Full details of the BBC’s confirmed televised cricket coverage throughout the summer of 2021 can be found below (TV channels/timings/match schedules are subject to change).
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