How to Watch Cricket Without Cable in the U.S. & Abroad in 2023
There isn’t as much talk about cricket in the U.S. as there is about baseball or basketball. For this reason, there aren’t many options to livestream cricket: The over 20 million U.S. cricket fans mostly rely on foreign broadcasts, which can sometimes be unreliable. If you’re wondering how to watch cricket without cable, we’ll show you hassle-free ways and step-by-step instructions.
Key Takeaways: Watch Cricket Online
- U.S.-based cricket fans can watch live matches on Willow TV, ESPN Plus or Sling TV.
- If you’re traveling abroad, you’ll need a reliable VPN service to unblock access to the cricket streaming services.
- ExpressVPN is the best VPN to watch cricket online from anywhere. NordVPN is an affordable alternative, whereas Proton VPN is a free service for cricket fans on a tight budget.
Whether you want to cheer on your favorite player in Major League Cricket, VIVO Indian Premier League (IPL), Pakistan Super League, New Zealand cricket, cricket West Indies, Cricket World Cup or other cricket competitions, keep reading. We got streaming options that work flawlessly for fans around the world.
If you’re traveling abroad, your trip won’t interfere with the cricket party. All you need is a reliable virtual private network to bypass broadcasting geoblocks and access your favorite cricket channel as if you were in the U.S. ExpressVPN is our best VPN for cricket streaming, but we’ll highlight other services that work just fine.
You only need a subscription to Willow TV to watch cricket on Willow Cricket and Willow Extra.
There are no free-forever cricket streaming options, but YouTube TV and fuboTV offer free trials, enabling you to enjoy free cricket while the trials last.
The cricket streaming services available to you depend on your country of residence. If you’re in the U.S., you can watch live cricket games on Willow TV, Sling TV or ESPN Plus.
You can watch live cricket on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Firestick, game consoles and other devices. The cricket streaming services support most devices and operating systems in use today.
Willow TV should be your go-to service if you’re looking for an affordable way to stream cricket live. The Willow cricket package doesn’t offer a free trial, but for $9.99 per month (or $60 per year), you get Willow Extra and Willow HD — the two biggest cricket broadcasters in the United States and Canada.
You’ll watch the T20 Men’s World Cup, Big Bash League, Pakistan Super League, Ashes, Indian Premier League and other International Cricket Council (ICC) tournaments. Just bear in mind that Willow TV is a great option only if you’ve no interest in other sports.
If you still want to keep one eye on other sports like soccer, American football, basketball and baseball, ESPN+ and Sling TV are safe bets.
Sling TV offers two packages with excellent cricket coverage: Sling Blue and Sling Orange, which cost $45 and $40 per month, respectively. That’s quite hefty compared to Willow TV, but you can follow other sports besides cricket, like motor racing, tennis and soccer.
ESPN Plus is the most expensive of the three options, but it unlocks a world of unfettered live sports streaming. It’s the home to many of the world’s cricket leagues, including the West Indies, New Zealand cricket, South Africa cricket, and more.
Here are other options to stream cricket live in various countries:
How to Watch Live Cricket for Free
If you’re in the U.S., you can watch live cricket for free on fuboTV or YouTube TV. The latter offers a 14-day free trial and allows you to watch free cricket on the Willow TV channel. On the other hand, fuboTV offers a 7-day free trial, allowing you to watch live cricket games on various channels while the trial lasts.
If you have a subscription to a local streaming service, you won’t be able to access it when you travel abroad. This is because the streaming services impose geoblocks, making it difficult for people outside the U.S. to access them — but it’s not impossible.
In this section, we’ll show you how to use ExpressVPN, the best VPN for streaming live sports, to unblock Sling TV outside the United States.
or another good VPN with servers in the United States or another country where a cricket streaming service is available.
- Connect the VPN
Connect the VPN to a server in the U.S. or other locations with livestreaming services.
- Livestream Cricket Games
Do a DNS leak test to confirm you got the ideal IP address. If everything looks OK, sign in to your cricket streaming services and watch cricket games without interruption.
Besides enabling you to circumvent streaming geoblocks, a VPN helps you sidestep ISP throttling, when your internet service provider slows down your connection when streaming. We’ll discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the best VPN for live cricket streaming, starting with ExpressVPN.
Pros:
- Great unblocking ability
- Lightning-fast speeds
- 30-day money-back return
To stream cricket without interruption, you need a VPN, like ExpressVPN, with excellent unblocking ability and fast download speeds. During our testing, the VPN service unblocked major streaming services on the first attempt. If the performance is anything to go by, you shouldn’t experience any trouble, whether you’re accessing Willow TV, ESPN Plus or any other cricket streaming channel.
ExpressVPN offers very fast VPN speeds, and the cricket streams are so smooth that you won’t even notice the VPN is running, whether you’re connecting to a nearby server or one several continents away. Plus, with unlimited bandwidth and data, you won’t get cut off when your favorite team is about to score the game-winning run.
In addition, ExpressVPN comes with a feature called MediaStreamer for devices that don’t natively support VPNs, such as Apple TV. MediaStreamer itself doesn’t offer VPN security, but it enables you to unblock access to cricket streaming sites. The only quibble is that ExpressVPN is quite expensive compared to other services. Learn more in our ExpressVPN review.
Pros:
- Fast connection speeds
- Unlimited bandwidth & data
- 30-day money-back return
Cons:
- Server breach in the past
- Challenging mobile UI
NordVPN may not rival our top pick when it comes to unblocking cricket streaming sites. During our testing, the VPN struggled to open BBC iPlayer, forcing us to switch servers several times to gain access. You may have a similar encounter when unblocking your go-to cricket streaming site. However, that won’t be a hassle, given NordVPN’s incredibly fast server switch time.
Thankfully, NordVPN pulls ahead of our top pick in terms of connection speeds. Its blazing-fast connection speeds ensure you get an interruption-free cricket streaming experience. The speeds move video lags and buffering out of your way, providing seamless streaming whether you’re connecting to a U.S. server from Canada or Australia.
Like ExpressVPN, NordVPN offers unlimited bandwidth and data, so you can watch the cricket match from start to finish. The service is more affordable than our top pick, making it the best ExpressVPN alternative. Learn more in our NordVPN review.
Pros:
- Free U.S. servers
- Excellent security & privacy
- Unlimited data on free plan
Cons:
Proton VPN is music to the ears of cricket fans on a tight budget. It’s the best free VPN out there, and it’s easy to understand why. The Switzerland-based provider offers unlimited data — a rarity with free VPN providers — with three server locations, including the U.S.
If you’re traveling abroad, you’ll also be glad to hear that Proton VPN has servers in the United States. It gives you a pool of IP addresses to livestream cricket matches on Willow TV, Sling TV and ESPN Plus from anywhere. Additionally, Proton VPN can unblock all major streaming services, including Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, HBO Max and Disney+.
On top of that, its speeds are quite impressive, though its latency can jump the further you are from the VPN server. However, you should be able to enjoy interruption-free cricket streaming in standard definition. Learn more in our comprehensive Proton VPN review.
We hope our guide has enlightened you on where and how to watch cricket without cable. There are many options, including Willow TV, ESPN Plus and Sling TV. However, you’ll need a reliable VPN service to access these services when you travel abroad.
ExpressVPN is the best VPN to watch cricket live, thanks to its unparalleled unblocking ability and fast speeds. However, if you’re looking for a more affordable service and don’t mind switching servers several times to access a streaming site, NordVPN is a safe bet. Proton VPN is a good option if you’re on a tight budget.
Have you watched cricket games from abroad? Did you use a VPN to access the streaming service? Which VPN service did you use? Was it paid or free? We’d love to hear about it in the comment section. As always, thanks for reading.
