The Ashes radio coverage 2023: How to listen to England v Australia cricket live
Your definitive guide to listening to The Ashes 2023 on the radio this summer.
The Ashes returns to the airwaves this week with the fifth Test kicking off at The Oval despite England's hopes of lifting the urn being extinguished by the great British summer.
Hosts England entered the fourth Test 2-1 down but dominated Australia in the opening three days at Old Trafford before rain wiped out the vast majority of Day 4 and Day 5.
Australia have officially retained the urn but England can still prevent a series defeat with a big display at The Oval in front of another inevitably boisterous, partisan home crowd.
The theatre of cricket and the medium of radio are perfect bedfellows, locked in an inseparable hundred-year embrace since the first ball-by-ball accounts were tentatively floated out across the nation in the 1920s.
The biggest names in the game have offered their insights - painting pictures of the scenes unfurling before them with Test Match Special burrowing deep into the hearts of sports fans across the nation.
Fans across the nation will be delighted to be able to hear the action described live and uninterrupted across the weeks, and we've got all the details you need to know about radio coverage below.
RadioTimes.com brings you a comprehensive round-up of how to listen to The Ashes on radio, including the first Test schedule.
More from The Ashes: Ashes TV coverage | Ashes schedule | Ashes squads | Ashes predictions | Ashes highlights | Sky Sports Ashes commentators | Test Match Special Ashes commentators
Listen to The Ashes on the radio
BBC Test Match Special has the rights to broadcast ball-by-ball commentary of The Ashes, with the team set to bring full coverage throughout every day of action.
In 2023, as in 1930 when the first Ashes series was broadcast on British radio, the BBC are back with bumper coverage of matches throughout the summer.
Jonathan Agnew will spearhead the list of Test Match Special presenters and commentators.
Broadcasts will be aired on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and via their online player, with build-up of each match starting prior to the time listed above.
BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra is available on digital radio and online. It is not broadcast on AM/FM radio.
Test Match Special has been broadcast via Radio 4 long-wave radio in the past, but this is the final Ashes series to be aired on the platform.
The service is being gradually shut down before a complete switch off, meaning the only way to listen to TMS will be via a digital radio after this summer.
The Ashes schedule 2023
1st Test: England v Australia
Date: Friday 16th – Tuesday 20th June
Venue: Edgbaston
Time: 11am
2nd Test: England v Australia
Date: Wednesday 28th June – Sunday 2nd July
Venue: Lord's
Time: 11am
3rd Test: England v Australia
Date: Thursday 6th – Monday 10th July
Venue: Headingley
Time: 11am
4th Test: England v Australia
Date: Wednesday 19th – Sunday 23rd July
Venue: Old Trafford
Time: 11am
5th Test: England v Australia
Date: Thursday 27th – Monday 31st July
Venue: The Oval
Time: 11am
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Authors
Michael Potts is the Sport Editor for Radio Times, covering all of the biggest sporting events across the globe with previews, features, interviews and more. He has worked for Radio Times since 2019 and previously worked on the sport desk at Express.co.uk after starting his career writing features for What Culture. He achieved a first-class degree in Sports Journalism in 2014.