BBC loses out to Talksport in Sri Lanka and West Indies tour broadcast rights auction

Fans of Test Match Special will not hear ball-by-ball coverage of an overseas England Test series on the programme for the first time in 13 years

The BBC have been outbid for the live broadcast rights for England's tours of Sri Lanka and West Indies by Talksport.

Test Match Special will not air ball-by-ball commentary of an England Test series overseas for the first time in more than a decade as a result.

Talksport, who last bought the rights to red-ball cricket in 2005, have recently invested in coverage of the 2017 Champions Trophy, the 2016 World T20 and England's limited overs games in Bangladesh in the same year.

“Winning these prestigious rights is a great victory for talkSPORT and its first-class coverage,” Wireless Group chief executive Scott Taunton said.

"England’s overseas tours are sure to lure large audiences of fans as we cement talkSPORT’s position as the fans’ favourite for sporting news, analysis and live coverage.

"I’m delighted that we will be with England fans for every ball of the day throughout these winter tours, with our own expert line-up of cricketing stars.”

Every game of the two tours, across all three formats, will be broadcast on Talksport and Talksport 2.

The governing bodies of Sri Lanka and West Indies decided who would get the rights to broadcast each series, with the matter out of the hands of the ECB.

The Sri Lanka series is due to begin on October 10.