Cricket fears being caught in the crossfire of a war between Number 10 and Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, amid signs that a government-commissioned review will recommend that the Ashes must be kept for free-to-air broadcasters.

The government will publish on Friday the review of the “crown jewel” list of sports events, which names the Olympics, the World Cup, the FA Cup, the Grand National and other contests considered to have “national resonance” and which must be made available to the widest possible television audience.