Call for Tests to be free could bowl a googly

The Crown Jewels affair has kicked up quite a storm, what with sports chiefs threatening legal action against ministers over a plan to reclaim the Ashes for free-to-air television. Proposals are for one list of live sport that must be shown on non-subscription channels, with the secondary list of events that must be available as highlights being scrapped.Taking the Ashes on to free-to-air only means that the ECB will have to sell its rights to cash-conscious terrestrial broadcasters, and that's not gone too well in certain quarters.

Former England spinner Ashley Giles writes in the Guardian that broadcasters should be given a fair hearing.

In the Times, Dan Sabbagh says the financial impact on cricket will be significant.

In the Independent, Robin Scott-Elliot says other sporting bodies will be similarly affected.