100 signatures reached
To: John Whittingdale, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Make The Ashes available to all
Re-list the home Ashes series to our national sporting 'crown jewels' - meaning the series must be shown in full on non-subscription TV.
The home Ashes would then rightly join the FA Cup, Grand National, World Cup and Wimbledon as key moments in our national sporting culture.
Why is this important?
1. Children play the sports they can watch on TV. They are inspired by their sporting heroes. But if they're unable to see the most famous competition in cricket - the pride of our national summer game - cricket will wither away. The vastly larger TV audiences of non-subscription channels will include a new generation of children inspired to play cricket - getting more kids into sport and improving the talent pool.
2. The last time the Ashes was on non-subscription TV - 2005 - saw the nation rally around to will England to an extraordinary victory. Showing the games only on paid TV makes it harder for everyone to enjoy our national culture. Cricket is central to English culture: we should all be able to celebrate it, not only those who can afford to pay.
3. In 2009, an independent review panel recommended that the government re-list the home Ashes series. The government didn't act then - and the longer it ignores it, the more the game loses support. It's time to act on the report - and make the #AshesForAll
Photo: "Ashes Urn" by danielgreef/Dan - http://www.flickr.com/photos/danielgreef/ Licensed under CC BY 2.0
