Three free ways to keep up with the Ashes!

by John Fitzsimons on 23 July 2009  |  1 comment
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This Ashes series looks like going right to the wire, but being there is not the only way you can keep up to date with what’s happening in the cricket.

Have you got cricket fever yet?

I know I have. There's nothing that quite compares with a big Ashes series, especially when there's actually a chance of winning.

An Australian relative came to visit my family at the weekend, and I insisted on not only wearing my England One Day International shirt (everyone else at least wore smart t-shirts) but an England cap as well. I then insisted on keeping him up to date with the score.

Maybe that was a bit much.

Anyway, if like me you are also desperate to keep informed of what's happening in each Test (particularly at work), but aren't lucky enough to have tickets, there are certain ways to keep up to date with every single ball!

1) Skyplayer

If you already have a Sky subscription at home, then you are fine for watching every ball at the weekends. But as Tests take five days, that's still an awful lot of cricket you are missing out on while at work.

Skyplayer is the answer!

If you're a Sky Digital Customer, download Skyplayer and you can watch the cricket at work for free! Ok, you might need to be a bit subtle about it if your boss is around, but that's surely a risk worth taking?!

If you're not already a Sky customer, you can take out a monthly subscription and watch the cricket that way. Unfortunately, this won't be free.

Then again, if you have a friend with a Sky Sports subscription who doesn't like cricket, you can get set up with their details!

2) Test Match Special

Is there anything more quintessentially English than Test Match Special? If you like your cricket discussion to include fleeting references to the local birdlife, passing buses and the standard of cakes, then this is just the ticket for you.

You can listen online via the BBC Sport website, or tune your radio to Radio 4 longwave (198LW), or if you have a digital radio, Radio 5 Live Extra.

3) Over by over commentary

If you want to dib in and out of what's happening in the cricket, this is probably your best option. There are absolutely loads of websites that offer this, but there are a couple that stand out ahead of the pack. My personal favourite is Cricinfo, but there are also cracking commentaries available on the BBC and the Guardian websites.

And there you have it. Now, roll on Edgbaston!