Cricket World Cup to return to free-to-air television under Labour government, according to manifesto

The Cricket World Cup would return to free-to-air television if Labour won the General Election, it said in its manifesto on Thursday.

The party promised to add the tournament to the so called ‘Crown Jewels’ list of sporting events reserved for terrestrial broadcast if Jeremy Corbyn became Prime Minister following the December 12 election.

The move comes amid calls for Sky Sports to be stripped of England’s biggest matches following an unprecedented year which saw them win an epic World Cup final – which the pay-TV giant allowed to be simulcast on Channel 4 – before hosting one of the most dramatic Ashes series of modern times.

Labour’s manifesto commitment also follows a report from the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee which called for the Ashes to be broadcast on free-to-air television.

Adding the World Cup to the ‘Crown Jewels’ rather than the Ashes would likely meet with less resistance from the England & Wales Cricket Board, with the former being an International Cricket Council tournament.

In July, the Government announced the list would be updated for the first time in 20 years to include the Paralympics and that it planned to add the equivalent women’s events to those protected in men’s sport.

Labour’s manifesto also promised a review of English football following the demise of Bury.

“In football, the professional game has become divided between the extremes of the very rich and the very poor with clubs in Bury and Bolton facing collapse,” it said.

“A Labour government will examine the state of the game, its governance and regulation, its ownership rules and the support and funding of the clubs that are vital to local communities. We will review the ‘fit and proper person test’ for club owners and directors and ensure that supporters’ trusts have a proper role so that the professional game is properly run for all its fans and all its clubs.”

It repeated its 2017 manifesto pledge to “legislate for accredited football supporters’ trusts to be able to appoint and remove at least two club directors and purchase shares when clubs change hands”.

And it pledged to “regulate safe standing in stadiums”, to “ensure that a proportion of the Premier League’s television rights income is spent on grassroots football facilities” and to “commission an independent review into discrimination in sport”.

Earlier this week, the Liberal Democrats’ manifesto repeated its 2017 pledge to “move towards introducing ‘safe standing’ at football clubs”.