How to watch cricket live streams — Test matches, ODIs, T20, franchise from anywhere, December fixtures
Your guide to free and paid cricket broadcasters the world over
Deep into the southern hemisphere's cricket summer, there's plenty of mouth-watering feast of clashes to satisfy fans up to Christmas and beyond — here's our guide to watching cricket live streams online.
The biggest ticket in town is the massive Border–Gavaskar Trophy five-Test series between Australia and India. There's pride, bragging rights and World Test Championship points all at stake, with the tourists desperate to bounce back after being humiliated at home by New Zealand.
The Black Caps themselves are hosting England, with red ball encounters featuring West Indies, Bangladesh, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Pakistan this month.
On the franchise scene, the Big Bash League gets started Down Under and the Super Smash in New Zealand and Bangladesh Premier League also begin. While the Sheffield Shield and Ranchi Trophy continue to run domestically.
Each cricket-adoring country has its own collection of cricket TV channels and streamers to make sure you're covered for everything from The Ashes to the IPL. And the good news is that you can watch anywhere with a VPN, if you happen to be trying to tune in from abroad.
So, read on and we'll give you the full range of strokes you need to watch cricket live streams from around the world, starting with one of the very best cricket streaming services deals you can catch...
Sling TV is one of the most affordable OTT services out there, and it has an unbeatable deal for cricket fans. The Desi Binge Plus and Dakshin Flex plans get you a Willow TV subscription from just $10/month, with no need to sign up to the Blue or Orange bundles first. No long contracts either. Willow TV is where you'll find the lion's share of all the cricket live streams in the U.S. which means a Sling TV sub has everything more or less covered on its own. Result.
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How to watch cricket live streams from anywhere
A VPN, or virtual private network, makes it look as if you're surfing the web from your home country, rather than the one you're in. That means you can access the streaming services you already pay for, from anywhere on Earth. Or anywhere that has an internet connection, at least.
VPNs are totally legal, inexpensive and easy to use. We've tested lots of the best VPN services and our favorite is NordVPN. It's fast, works on loads of devices, and even offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
There's a good reason you've heard of NordVPN. We specialize in testing and reviewing VPN services and NordVPN is the one we rate best. It's outstanding at unblocking streaming services, it's fast and it has top-level security features too. With over 6,000 servers across 110 countries, and at a great price too, it's easy to recommend.
Using a VPN is incredibly simple.
1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we've said, NordVPN is our favorite.
2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance if you're in the U.S. and want to view a U.S. service such as Sling, you'd select a 'USA' server from the list.
3. Sit back and enjoy the action and watch your cricket live stream.
How to watch cricket live streams by country
How to watch cricket live streams in the U.S.
The broadcast rights for cricket's biggest competitions and games are split between Willow TV and ESPN Plus in the U.S.
Willow shows Australia, Bangladesh, England, Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka games, the IPL, Big Bash League, Pakistan Super League, Major League Cricket, Bangladesh Premier League, Caribbean Premier League, Cricket World Cup, Men's T20 World Cup, and U19 Cricket World Cup.
You can get Willow TV from just $10/month via the Desi Binge Plus or Dakshin Flex packages on Sling TV.
ESPN Plus shows India, Ireland, New Zealand and West Indies games, the Super Smash, Regional Super50, Men's T20 World Cup, and U19 Cricket World Cup.
ESPN Plus costs $11.99/month for the basic package, but you can save over 15% by signing up for the $119.99 annual plan. That brings access to boxing, the NFL, MLB, NHL, PGA Tour golf, soccer, major tennis and even the UFC if you're happy to add the occasional PPV fee.
Hotstar shows India games and the IPL, too, while CBS Sports Network also shares the rights to Major League Cricket.
If you already use a streaming service but aren't in the U.S. right now, you can watch cricket live streams by using a VPN such as NordVPN. And if, for whatever reason, you can't get it working, do remember that you have the comfort of a 30-day money-back guarantee with NordVPN.
How to watch cricket live streams in the U.K.
In the U.K, cricket broadcasting rights are fragmented, but the vast majority of games and competitions are held by Sky Sports and TNT Sports.
However, occasional games air on BBC channels and BBC iPlayer, both of which are free to use. The BBC has the rights to The Hundred (10 men's and eight women's games), but has now given up its rights to show the odd international match.
Pretty much every County Championship game is live streamed for free on the home teams' YouTube channels, and ODIs and T20Is in Ireland are live streamed for free on the Cricket Ireland Live YouTube channel.
Sky Sports shows the England men (home Tests, ODIs and T20Is), England women, Tests, ODIs and T20Is in Pakistan and South Africa, the County Championship, T20 Blast, One-Day Cup (final), IPL (74 games), Women's Premier League, Big Bash League, Women's Big Bash League, Pakistan Super League, The Hundred, SA20, Abu Dhabi T10, Cricket World Cup, Women's World Cup, Men's T20 World Cup, Women's T20 World Cup, and U19 World Cup.
TNT Sports shows Tests, ODIs and T20Is in Australia, New Zealand and West Indies, the Super Smash, Women’s Super Smash, Caribbean Premier League, Legends League T20, Major League Cricket, and Asia Cup. It has added some England internationals to its repertoire, too.
If you want to sign up, you can check out the best Sky TV deals and packages. Don't fancy being locked into a long, expensive contract? Consider the more flexible streaming option, Now.
You can get TNT by subscribing to the Discovery Plus Premium plan for £30.99/month, or you can add TNT Sports through Sky, BT, EE or Virgin Media.
DAZN shows the IPL (74 games) too, while Viaplay holds the rights to Tests, ODIs and T20Is in Afghanistan and Zimbabwe, the Bangladesh Premier League, Abu Dhabi T10, and European Cricket League T10.
If you're outside the UK and want to tune in, it's simple to do with a handy tool – simply grab a VPN and follow the instructions above to live stream the action.
How to watch cricket live streams in Australia
Cricket fans based in Australia are amongst the luckiest in the world, because a healthy amount of games and tournaments are still free-to-air, courtesy of the Seven Network channels and 7Plus, and the Nine Network channels and 9Now.
The Seven Network shows Tests in Australia, The Ashes, the Big Bash League (43 games), Women's Big Bash League (24 games), and Allan Border Medal.
The Nine Network shows the Men's Cricket World Cup.
The majority of coverage, however, is locked behind a paywall.
Kayo Sports shows all Australian men's and women's games, The Ashes, Men's Cricket World Cup, Sheffield Shield, Marsh One-Day Cup, Big Bash League (59 games), Women's Big Bash League (35 games), Governor-General's XI, Super Smash, IPL, SA20, T20 Blast, Caribbean Premier League, Bangladesh Premier League, Pakistan Super League, Major League Cricket, International League T20, and Allan Border Medal. Kayo offers access to over 50 sports live and on-demand. Prices start at $25.
Fox Cricket shows all Australian men's and women's games, The Ashes, Men's Cricket World Cup, Marsh One-Day Cup, Big Bash League (59 games), Women's Big Bash League (59 games), Governor-General's XI, Super Smash, IPL, SA20, T20 Blast, Caribbean Premier League, Bangladesh Premier League, Pakistan Super League, Major League Cricket, International League T20, and Allan Border Medal.
The Sheffield Shield and Marsh One-Day Cup are also live streamed for free on the Cricket Australia website.
If you aren't in the country when the game you want to watch is on, just sign up for a VPN such as NordVPN to watch the action as if you were back home.
Upcoming cricket on TV in December 2024
Highlights of cricket fixtures in December include:
International
- Australia vs India Test series: Nov. 22 - Jan. 7
- West Indies vs Bangladesh Test series: Nov. 22 - Dec. 4
- South Africa vs Sri Lanka Test series: Nov. 27 - Dec. 9
- New Zealand vs England Test series: Nov. 27 - Dec. 18
- South Africa vs England Women ODI series: Dec. 4-11
- Australia vs India Women ODI series: Dec. 5-11
- West Indies vs Bangladesh ODI & T20 series: Dec. 8-20
- South Africa vs Pakistan T20 & ODI series: Dec. 10-22
- South Africa vs England Women Test: Dec. 15-18
- India vs West Indies Women T20 & ODI series: Dec. 15-27
- New Zealand vs Australia Women ODI series: Dec. 19-23
- South Africa vs Pakistan Test series: Dec. 26 - Jan. 7
- New Zealand vs Sri Lanka T20 & ODI series: Dec. 28 - Jan. 11
Domestic & franchise
- Sheffield Shield (AUS): Oct. 7 - Mar. 29
- Ranchi Trophy (IND): Oct. 11 - Feb. 26
- Big Bash League (AUS): Dec 15 - Jan. 27
- Super Smash (NZ): Dec. 26 - Feb. 2
- Bangladesh Premier League: Dec. 30 - Feb. 7
More from Tom's Guide
- How to watch Premier League live streams from anywhere
- Sling TV channels, app, packages, price and plans
- The best streaming VPN
Disclaimer
We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
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Aatif is a freelance journalist and copywriter based in the UK. He’s written about technology, sport and politics for a wide range of publications including TechRadar, What Hi-Fi?, The Independent, Trusted Reviews, and Newsweek. These days, he focuses mainly on streaming at Future, an arrangement that combines two of his greatest passions: live TV and penny-pinching. When he's not attending a top-flight English soccer match, you can find him perfecting his table tennis skills.
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