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The deal quashes fears that the event would not be shown on any terrestrial channel, because the channels would not be able to stump up enough cash to compete with BSkyB.

Coverage of the series between England, captained by Andrew Flintoff, and Australia will air nightly during the tests and the one-day series, with scheduling on the BBC's channels to be announced.

The BBC secured the right to broadcast the highlights from Sky, which holds the exclusive rights to broadcast live matches for the Ashes tour.

The corporation beat terrestrial broadcaster Five, which holds the highlights rights to broadcast international cricket matches. Five won those rights from Channel 4.

There will be comprehensive live radio coverage of the Tests with 'Test Match Special' on BBC Radio 4 and Radio Five Live Sports Xtra, as well as online at

The BBC last televised test cricket in 1999, and as part of the current package has also won the rights to broadcast the highlights of the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup, showing 29 hours of the event in total.
 
The BBC will be the only terrestrial broadcaster with free-to-air coverage of the Cricket World Cup.
 
Roger Mosey, director of sport at the BBC, said: "This is further evidence that the BBC is serious about cricket. Test Match Special is a national institution on radio and our online site attracts millions of users.

"Now we've added the Ashes to the Cricket World Cup highlights for our television audiences -- and we're delighted to be serving cricket fans in so many different ways."

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