A decision to review a list of major sporting events protected for free-to-air television has been put on hold by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) until 2013.

The announcement means that home Ashes cricket - the four-yearly Test match cricket series between England and Australia - is set to remain on Pay TV beyond 2016. An independent panel chaired by former Football Association chief David Davies, set up by the previous government, had advocated the restoration of home Test match cricket to the list of 'crown jewel' sporting events.

However, new sports minister Hugh Robertson said that the decision would be best left until after the end of the Digital Switchover in 2012, as well as the BBC Strategy Review and the Ofcom Pay TV Review. Robertson said: "I fully support the principle of protecting major sports events for free to air coverage. But with Digital Switchover concluding in 2012, this will result in the widespread availability of a significantly increased number of television channels, many of which will be free to air.

"The current economic climate also points to us not making a decision at this time which could adversely impact on sport at the grassroots. I have therefore decided to defer any review until 2013, when we will look at this again." Both the Rugby Football Union and the Rugby Football League welcomed the decision to defer the decision, while the England and Wales Cricket Board warned earlier this year that domestic cricket could suffer if home Ashes Tests were listed for live free-to-air broadcast.

Drawn up in 1998, two lists currently govern which events are reserved for broadcast on free-to-air channels. The Group A list, which protects full live coverage, includes the FA Cup Final, Wimbledon and the Olympics. The second Group B list aims to protect secondary coverage of highlights, including home Test match cricket, the Ryder Cup and Six Nations rugby union matches.

Davies' independent panel had proposed the abolition of the Group B list on the grounds that a second list for protected highlights coverage was no longer needed due to the rise of the internet as a viewing platform.