While the thousands of Australians living in Britain scoff and laugh at the "heatwave" sweeping the nation, it gives cricket fans a good chance to expose themselves to dangerous levels of sun while catching a taste of the Ashes on the big screen. The ECB's hugely popular Cricket in the Park events will be available across the country throughout the Ashes, ensuring that the country will once again be gripped by the Ashes wherever you might be.

The venues are as follows:

• Southampton, Hoglands Park - Fri 10 and Sat 11 July (during Cardiff Test)
• Liverpool, Sefton Park - Sat 18 and Sun 19 July (Lord's Test)
• Cambridge, Parkers Piece - Sat 1 and Sun 2 Aug (Edgbaston Test)
• Derby, Markeaton Park - Sat 8 and Sun 9 Aug (Headingley Test)
• London, Regent's Park - Sat 22 and Sun 23 Aug (Brit Oval Test)

Though Aussies might laugh at pasty poms blistering like tomatoes on a barbecue, a quick trip 10 metres underground on the Tube ought to remind them just how sweltering the conditions can be. And in 2005, so entranced by the series did the nation become, that London Underground even updated some of the scores on the archaic screens while passengers waited for the next train.