Television coverage of future Ashes cricket should be shared with the BBC or another free-to-air channel, according to a Kent MP.

Sittingbourne and Sheppey MP Derek Wyatt said a way needed to be found of ensuring more people could watch the action live and it was not enough for just a highlights package to be broadcast on terrestrial TV.

Millions of people were unable to view yesterday’s dramatic climax to the Ashes series live because of Sky’s exclusive coverage rights.

Mr Wyatt, who chairs the all-party 2012 Olympic committee and until recently was an aide to sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe, stopped short of calling for future Ashes series to be on the Government’s "protected" list of major sporting events.

Read the views of our political editor Paul Francis on this idea here >>>

But he said he favoured an arrangement in which broadcast rights in any deciding Test in a future series should be shared between a satellite broadcaster and a terrestrial channel.

"I think there is a case that where there is a deciding match in a series, we treat it in the same way as the football World Cup final and make it available on terrestrial TV. There at least needs to be a system where broadcasters like the BBC can switch to live coverage and the event is shared. That is something that could be written into a contract," he said.

England’s success at the Oval in the fifth test has prompted renewed calls in some quarters for the Ashes to be added to the list of events that must be shown free-to-air.

The Government is reviewing the existing list of protected events and in consultation, the BBC has called for the ICC cricket World Cup and the Twenty20 World Cup to be added to the list.

Mr Wyatt said it was for the English Cricket Board (ECB) to make a judgement rather than the Government.

"It is for the ECB to redefine what it does...the public has lost its way and are confused. If it has any sense, it would recognise that it needs terrestrial coverage and that should be in any future contract."