England and South Africa, two heavyweights in the cricket world, will slug it out for dominance in a bilateral test series slated to begin on Boxing Day. The first England vs South Africa cricket test takes place at Centurion Park on Thursday, December 26th at 8 AM GMT and is scheduled to end Monday, December 30th.
The good news is that you don’t need to be physically present in South Africa to watch the matches live. In this article, we’ll show you how to live stream the England vs South Africa test series from anywhere in the world with a Virtual Private Network (VPN).
Be advised that we will only recommend official sources, so you can connect to your home streaming services from abroad. There are a number of spurious and subpar streaming services regularly advertised on forums and discussion boards. Since they’re illegal, they can be taken down without warning. Plus, most incorporate low-quality video, poor audio, and tons of invasive advertisements. Since there are many official streams available, we don’t recommend that you use unlicensed options.
How to live stream England vs South Africa online
It’s okay if you haven’t used a VPN before. We’ll take you through the step-by-step process of how to set one up and start live-streaming the England vs South Africa 2019 cricket series.
Here’s how to live stream England vs South Africa cricket online from anywhere:
- The first order of business is to sign up with a VPN service. Our recommendation is ExpressVPN. However, both CyberGhost and NordVPN are excellent alternatives that offer good value for money.
- After your registration is complete, proceed to download and install the appropriate VPN apps.
- Open your VPN app or browser extension and connect to an appropriate server. For example, if you’re signing in from the UK with Sky Sports then you’ll need a UK server. Willow users will need a US server, and those in Australia streaming from Fox Sports will require an Australian server.
- Don’t forget to clear your browser cache and cookies. This removes all location identifiers and prevents your streaming service from determining your actual geographical location.
- Sign in to your preferred streaming service, such as Sky Sports. If you don’t have an account yet, you’ll need to register for one before this step.
- Congrats! All your favorite content should be available.
We recommend that you try these steps well before the matches begin. This will give you time to contact customer support if you run into any problems; you don’t want to miss the initial action due to troubleshooting.Â
How to live stream the England vs South Africa Cricket on UK TV
Cricket fans in the UK will be pleased to note that Sky Sports will be broadcasting the entire tour live. Existing customers can use the Sky Go app to stream the matches from anywhere in the world. So if you’re traveling abroad, simply sign in to your VPN, select a server in the UK, and log on to Sky Go.
If you’re not an existing Sky Sports customer, the sports package costs £23 per month on top of a regular Sky TV subscription. You could alternatively use the Now TV pass which enables you to watch all the content on Sky Sports without being locked into a long-term agreement. Day passes are available for £9.99, weekly passes cost £14.99, and a monthly pass will set you back £33.99.Â
As we mentioned earlier, you will need a UK IP address to stream Sky Go or Now TV from abroad. ExpressVPN works well for the purpose; it includes a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can try out the service risk-free.Â
Where else can I live stream England vs South Africa cricket?
Sky Sports offers all the games in HD format but it’s certainly not the only place where you can watch the England vs South Africa test series. In this section, we’ll show you a few more options:
South Africa
Star Sports has exclusive rights to broadcast all the England vs South Africa cricket games. It’s a behemoth of a sports streaming service and includes cricket as well as a number of other sports. To stream Star Sports, you must be a DSTV customer. Packages that include all the Star Sports channels start at R809 per month (there’s a Black Friday deal in place at the moment that’s priced at R709).Â
The DSTV compact package, which starts at R519 per month includes Star Sports 8 but it’s unclear whether all the England vs South Africa matches will be streamed on this channel alone.
Unfortunately, there’s no streaming-only package or an option for a month-to-month contract.Â
If you’re an existing Star Sports user, then simply port your location to South Africa if you’re traveling abroad. Once you have a South African IP address, log on to the Star Sports website and stream all the cricket you want.
Australia
Foxtel will broadcast the England vs South Africa test matches live online through the Foxtel Go app. Unfortunately, folks outside Australia can’t register for Foxtel as you need a local address, phone number, and credit card to do so. However, if you’re in the market for a new Foxtel connection, there’s a special Christmas bundle you can avail for a $58 monthly fee. This includes access to 13 sports channels, as well as cricket.Â
Existing Foxtel subscribers can connect to a VPN server in Australia and stream all the cricket they want from abroad.
USA
Willow is a dedicated cricket streaming service and one of the ICC’s official broadcasters. Anyone in the US can stream all the England vs South Africa matches live. Those traveling abroad can stream Willow with a US IP address.Â
Monthly subscription packages start at US$9.99 or US$45 for an annual subscription. There’s no free trial, unfortunately.Â
Canada
Willow is available in Canada, too. Monthly packages are cheaper when compared to those in the US as they start at CAD 7.99. Willow Canada will broadcast the England vs South Africa series, but it has a smaller roster of cricket content as compared to the US version overall. Canadian subscribers traveling abroad will need to acquire a Canadian IP address before logging on to Willow.Â
Who will win the England vs South Africa test series?
The England test squad for its South African tour was announced recently, with the major surprise being the exclusion of former stalwart Moeen Ali. However, the team looks strong on paper despite its recent setbacks in New Zealand. The return of Jimmy Anderson as the spearhead of the bowling attack is good news for the Barmy Army. His prodigious swing and control over the red ball should work wonders on the bowler-friendly surfaces of South Africa.
South African cricket is going through a bit of turmoil. There have been some high-profile disagreements between the players and the South African cricket board, with some players threatening to go on strike. It’s expected that former captain Graeme Smith will assume control in a senior position shortly, so that might help ease player concerns. Regardless, it’s a tenuous situation right now and doesn’t bode well for player morale leading up to this critical series.
Having said that, the South African team is very difficult to beat at home. Faf Du Plessis will undoubtedly rally his troops to bring out their best versus their traditional rivals. As it stands, it’s anybody’s game.Â
Update on 15th January: After England’s roaring comeback in the second test, the series is now wide open. South Africa is undoubtedly feeling the heat as the pressure is squarely on them to reverse the momentum. It should be a fascinating third test!
