As a cricket enthusiast in the USA, I know firsthand that while the sport may be overlooked in many regions, its global popularity continues to surge. In fact, I’ve discovered a vibrant community of cricket fans right here in America. Let me share the best ways to stream cricket matches, whether you’re watching from within the US or abroad.
In a hurry? There are various places you can go to stream cricket but Willow is the place. We recommend getting Willow through Sling TV.
Table Of Contents
Cricket is one of the world’s most popular sports. Although interest in it is minimal in many places, including amongst those in the US who do not have connections with other countries, it enjoys tremendous popularity in several cultures and countries, including some of the world’s largest.
That interest is focused on Commonwealth countries, which is understandable as the sport originated in England, and the British helped spread it to their territories. Included on that list are India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand, and various Caribbean countries that are Commonwealth members. Similarly, Ireland and South Africa are big cricket countries. Cricket is also very popular in Afghanistan, which borders Pakistan and is near India.
History of Cricket
Cricket dates to the late 1500s and was initially played in England. Interest in it gradually developed over the following centuries. Its rules were initially drawn up in the 1700s, including the codification of the Laws of Cricket in 1744.
The first international cricket match took place in 1844. In fact, that was the first sports event of any type played by national teams. Canada defeated the US by 23 runs in New York.
It was the 1900s when interest in the sport started taking off. One of the most significant historic moments took place in the summer of 1975. This was when the inaugural Cricket World Cup was held in England. The West Indies defeated Australia in that event’s final, which was played at London’s historic Lord’s Cricket Ground.
Forms of Cricket
Most sports are played under the same or nearly identical rules at the professional level. Cricket, like rugby, is an outlier as far as that is concerned. There are three different forms of cricket.
Test
Test cricket is how the sport was traditionally played. Many view this multiple-day form of cricket as its most prestigious and the best way to determine which team is better overall, taking into account both playing skills and endurance. These are usually played over five days, lasting around six or seven hours a day.
There is no World Cup for this form of cricket, but the ICC World Test Championship was launched in 2019. This is a league competition that takes years to contest. For example, its second edition started on Aug 4, 2021, and is scheduled to run through Mar 31, 2023.
Included in this type of match is The Ashes, a series of five Test matches between England and Australia scheduled every year or two that receives significant attention in those countries.
ODI
One Day International (ODI) cricket, created in 1971, was the initial form of this sport that decreased how long matches take to play. It is also the form used at the Cricket World Cup, the sport’s premier event that only trails soccer events and the Olympics in worldwide television numbers. In fact, one of the contests at the 2015 Cricket World Cup — India vs Pakistan — drew 1 billion viewers.
ODI cricket is played with 50 overs with matches lasting around eight hours. The Men’s Cricket World Cup is generally scheduled for a month and a half. The 2019 edition started on May 30 of that year and concluded with the final on Jul 14. It was claimed by England in dramatic fashion. After the teams were stalemated at 241 runs apiece, they played a Super Over, which the English side won.
Twenty20
Twenty20 (T20) is the shortest form of cricket. It has received increasing amounts of interest since the first T20 matches were played in 2003. It consists of 20 overs per game. This results in contests lasting around three hours and a more manageable time commitment for fans as compared to eight-hour (ODI) or five-day (Test) matches.
The first Men’s and Women’s T20 World Cups were played in the 2000s, the former in 2007 and the latter in 2009. Those World Cups are also shorter than their ODI counterparts as far as days go. For example, the 2021 Men’s T20 World Cup was scheduled for Oct 17 to Nov 14 of that year.
Major Cricket Competitions
There are major international and domestic cricket competitions in all forms of the game.
International
The most prestigious cricket tournaments are:
- Cricket World Cups (Men’s and Women’s ODI, generally held every four years)
- T20 World Cups (Men’s and Women’s, usually held every two years
- World Test Championship (Men’s only, ongoing competition).
Domestic
Domestic competitions also tend to receive significant interest within their countries although, interestingly, that is less so in England than elsewhere.
One place where a country’s domestic competition enjoys massive crowds is India. In fact, the Indian Premier League (IPL) is one of the world’s most attended sports leagues with crowds averaging 30,000 and top matches drawing 70,000+.
Other leagues with impressive crowds for domestic leagues, averaging 15,000+, are the Bangladesh Premier League, Pakistan Super League, and Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL).
Where to Stream Cricket
There are different ways to stream cricket depending on where you are and what you are looking for. But there is one source above the rest.
Willow
Willow TV is the best place for Americans to stream live cricket. It is $9.99 for a one-month subscription. But it is just $60 for a one-year subscription ($5/mo).
There are advantages to getting Willow through Sling TV, however. You have many options (19 in fact). But the simplest is to sign-up for the World Sports. It is $10/mo and provides Willow Cricket and Willow Extra as well as 3 beIN Sports channels and Premiere (the Brazilian sports channel).
Sling TV is one of the best streaming services. And you can get Willow with the Sling Orange plan for $40.00/month. It includes ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN3 as well as A&E, AMC, Disney, HGTV, TBS, TNT, and more. You can add Willow Cricket and Willow Extra for $5/mo more.
There are other packages focused on other languages including Urdu, Italian, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Bangla, Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi. These packages start at $10/mo including Willow Cricket and Willow Extra. Those who are interested in the Indian culture can also get the Desi Binge package ($10/mo), which includes Eros Now, MX ONE, SonyLIV, and VOOT.
Competitions that are available to watch with a Willow subscription include the Indian Premier League, Pakistan Super League, Big Bash League, Ashes, Cricket World Cups, T20 World Cups, and qualifying for major events. However, note that Willow shares much of its cricket coverage with ESPN+.
For more information, see our various guides to watching cricket on Sling TV:
- 2023 Cricket Season
- Indian Premier League (Schedule)
- IPL Top Teams
- IPL History
- 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Finals
ESPN+
ESPN+ ($10.99/month) has significantly increased its cricket offerings. Notably, that coverage includes several contests played by India’s men’s national team and all Indian Premier League matches, including with Hindi commentary.
Other ESPN+ deals have locked up extensive coverage of New Zealand’s and West Indies’ national teams. The Men’s T20 World Cup that was played from Oct 17 to Nov 14, 2021, was also streamed on ESPN+. it shared coverage of that event with Willow.
Hulu + Live TV now comes with ESPN+ as well as Disney+ for an incredible price of just $82.99/month. If you aren’t interested in its selection of live channels (ESPN, Fox Sports, CBS Sports, NFL Network, etc), you can get the Hulu on-demand bundle with ESPN+ and Disney+ for just $14.99/month.
Non-US Viewing
Of course, how you would go about streaming cricket varies depending on where you are located at the time of wanting to watch the sport.
Willow offers much of its content to those in Canada as well. Hotstar also provides cricket streams to Canadians.
Sky Sports is a common destination for cricket fans in the UK and New Zealand. In the UK, you can stream Sky Sports with NOW.
Fox Cricket provides extensive coverage of the sport to Australians.
A VPN can be very useful in viewing cricket but make sure you abide by any applicable laws and contracts.
Devices to Live Stream Cricket
Willow TV, ESPN+, Sling TV, and Hulu all support most devices in use today:
- Amazon Fire TV
- Android mobile
- Android TV
- Apple TV
- Chromecast
- iOS (iPhone,iPad)
- Roku
- Samsung smart TVs
- Xbox One
- Web browsers.
ESPN+ and Sling also support the Oculus. ESPN+ supports the PlayStation 4 while Hulu supports versions 3, 4, and 5. Hulu and Sling support LG smart TVs. Other less popular devices are also supported.
Summing Up
If you are based in the US and want to watch cricket, your best options are Willow (alone or via Sling) and ESPN+ (alone or via Hulu).
They enjoy joint streaming rights to a number of prestigious events. For example, both Willow and ESPN+ streamed every match from the 2021 Men’s T20 World Cup.
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My expertise in sports coverage, particularly for out-of-market games and regional sports networks, stems from years of hands-on experience as an early adopter of streaming services and my work addressing fans' viewing challenges. As a longtime cord-cutter and subscriber to multiple streaming platforms, I combine my technical knowledge with practical user experience, making me a leading expert in the field of sports streaming and entertainment technology.
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