2.7m TUNE IN FOR CRICKET’S BBC RETURN

THE BBC’s first live cricket match in 21 years attracted a peak TV audience of 2.7million. England’s four-wicket win over Pakistan in the second T20 international at Old Trafford was the first game the Beeb have shown since the 1999 World Cup. Isa Guha fronted the coverage, with pundits including Jimmy Anderson, Michael Vaughan and Phil Tufnell. And the match on BBC One had a solid 17.3 per cent share of Sunday afternoon’s TV audience, with an average viewership of 1.7m. Sky Sports’ coverage of the same fixture — when England captain Eoin Morgan’s 33-ball 66 inspired the hosts to victory — attracted a peak of 706,000 and an average of 417,000. The latest viewing figures will be of keen interest to the ECB, who are desperate to widen cricket’s reach after years away from live terrestrial coverage. As part of the deal agreed with the BBC in 2017, which came into force this year, two England men’s T20 internationals will be shown by the broadcaster, as well as one women’s game. This year also saw the BBC take over the highlights show for England’s men’s Test matches and their best audience came on the second day of the final Pakistan Test, when 1.7m tuned in. An ECB spokesman said: ‘We’ve seen people enjoying the action in huge numbers on Sky and digitally, as well as BBC highlights, and it’s great to have continued that with Sunday’s T20 simulcast on Sky and the BBC.’