Ashes: Thriller at Headingley was the most-watched Test match on Sky EVER

The thrilling third Ashes game at Headingley broke records as the most-watched Test match on Sky, new data has revealed. 

England beat their old foes Australia by three wickets in Leeds to keep a thrilling Ashes series alive.

Ben Stokes and Co now trail Pat Cummins‘ Aussies 2-1 with two Tests remaining to see if they can come back from 2-0 to win 3-2, which has only ever been done once before (Australia in 1936-37), and never by England.

And figures have shown just how much the Headingley Test captured the nation’s attention.

The fourth day saw the third-highest Ashes peak of all time, with 2.05million people tuning in.

Follow MailSport on Threads here: https://www.threads.net/@mailsport 

The Ashes thriller at Headingley (pictured) was the most-watched Test match ever on Sky

Chris Woakes (right) hit the winning runs as England kept the series alive against foes Australia

The fourth and final day at Headingley recorded the third-highest Ashes peak ever, with more than two million viewers, despite Wimbledon matches and the British Grand Prix on Sunday

That record came despite British stars like Lewis Hamilton, George Russell and Lando Norris competing against Max Verstappen in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on Sunday, and the ongoing Wimbledon major tennis tournament.

The third Test averaged 965,000 viewers over the four days, surpassing the previous record from the five-day first Test in mid-June.

And this series, characterised by serious rivalry on and off the field as England’s exciting and entertaining new ‘Bazball’ style comes up against the World Test Championship title holders, compares favourably to the 2019 series as well.

Average viewing of the third Test is up 56 per cent from the third match four years ago, the last Ashes series in England, while the 2023 series is averaging 878,000 so far – 45 per cent more than the first three games in 2019.

The concurrent multi-format Women’s Ashes series has also seen a rise in interest.

Australia’s win in the one-off curtain-raising Test saw a 400 per cent jump in viewing figures from 2019, with the three Twenty20 clashes (which England won 2-1) averaging 262,000 across the three matches, up 135 per cent from the 2019 T20s.

Saturday night’s deciding T20 clash – which England won by five wickets via the DLS method – averaged 285,000 viewers, the second-highest women’s international T20 ever on Sky, after a 2020 World Cup match.

Indeed, it peaked at a significant 795,000, the biggest Ashes peak ever in any format and Sky’s highest peak for a women’s international T20 game.

Follow MailSport on Threads here: https://www.threads.net/@mailsport