How to watch the Cricket World Cup online: England v South Africa

The first match of the Cricket World Cup is England vs. South Africa. This fixture will take place at The Oval in South East London at 10:30 AM BST (2:30 AM PST / 5:30 AM EST) on May 30. The English and South African teams are pretty evenly matched, so their upcoming game promises to be very close, and an excellent way to kick off the tournament. Can’t make it to London in person? Don’t worry; below, we’ll let you know how to stream England vs. South Africa wherever you are in the world.

You should note that we’ll only be recommending official sources. Unfortunately, there are almost always unlicensed streams of major sporting events but we strongly advise against using them. Not only do they provide low-quality video, but they also run the risk of being taken offline for copyright violation. As such, there’s no guarantee you’ll even get to see the end of the game. There are official broadcasters in over three dozen countries, however, so there’s really no reason to use unreliable third-party streams.

The services showing this match are all region-locked, meaning you’ll have to use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to access them from abroad.

Best VPN for the ICC World Cup: ExpressVPN

VPNs encrypt your traffic, keeping your activities hidden from your employer, government, and Internet Service Provider (ISP). However, you can also use them to obtain an IP address from another country, which lets you access geo-restricted streaming services from abroad. We recommend ExpressVPN: it’s fast, secure, and able to unblock popular platforms like Netflix US, ESPN, and Now TV from anywhere.

Getting started only takes a few minutes. All you have to do is choose your preferred subscription length (one, six, or twelve months) and pay. You can even use Bitcoin if you’d like added anonymity. ExpressVPN comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, meaning you can try it risk-free, and if you’re not impressed, cancel for a full refund.

BEST VPN FOR CRICKET:ExpressVPN has over 3,000 high-speed servers in 94 countries. It boasts exceptional unblocking ability, strong security features, and multi-platform support. Best of all, this service doesn’t log any information which could identify you.

How to watch the Cricket World Cup abroad with a VPN

With the right VPN, bypassing regional restrictions becomes trivially simple. Just follow the steps below to unblock and stream England vs. South Africa from anywhere:

1. First, choose a suitable VPN. We’ve briefly touched upon ExpressVPN above but NordVPN and CyberGhost are two high-quality, low-cost alternatives.
2. Next, download and install the appropriate version of the app for your device.
3. Decide which of the streaming services below you’d like to use.
4. Connect to one of your VPN’s servers in the required country. For example, you’ll need a US server to unblock Willow or a British one for Sky Sports.
5. Login and start streaming. You shouldn’t have any issues but if the video still won’t play, clearing your cache and cookies then reloading the page will fix most problems.

England vs. South Africa will be broadcast live which is why we strongly recommend running through the steps above well before the game is due to start. This way, if you have any difficulty, there’ll still be time to get help from your VPN’s customer support team.

Where can I live stream England vs. South Africa online?

This event will be shown in dozens of countries, so there’s a good chance you’ll be able to watch it, wherever you live. Below, we explain which networks are broadcasting the England vs. South Africa cricket match where you are:

UK

Sky Sports is the official ICC World Cup broadcaster for the UK. Existing Sky TV customers can stream England vs. South Africa (and all Cricket World Cup matches) at no added cost on the Sky website or Sky Go app. Coverage will begin one hour before the game, at 9:30 BST (1:30 AM PST / 4:30 AM EST) on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket.

If you don’t have cable, you can simply purchase a Sky Sports Pass on Now TV instead. These costs £8.99 per day but if you’d like to watch the entire World Cup, you’d be better off with a monthly pass (£33.99). It’s worth mentioning that you don’t need a Now TV account to buy a Sky Sports pass so there are no extra charges to worry about.

This tournament lasts around six weeks, meaning you’ll have to buy two concurrent month-long passes. However, this is easier and far less expensive than signing up for a new cable TV package, and best of all, you won’t be locked into a long-term contract.

Sky Go and Now TV are only available in the UK. As such, you’ll need a VPN to use them from other countries.

USA

American cricket fans can watch the England vs. South Africa game at 1:30 AM PST / 4:30 AM EST on Willow. Too early for you? Although there are no scheduled replays as yet, this service usually shows reruns the following day on Willow Xtra.

If your cable TV package already includes Willow, you’re free to log in and stream any game without restriction. Luckily, there are over-the-top options available so even if you don’t have cable, you can still watch these matches live.

The easiest way is to sign up for Willow’s online plan. This costs $9.99 USD per month and allows you to watch games, highlights, and replays in HD. There’s no trial period, however. If you’d prefer, you could also add Willow to your Sling TV subscription. There’s no cost advantage to doing so though, since the price remains the same whichever service you choose.

Willow and Sling TV are both geo-restricted, meaning you’ll have to either be in the US or connected to a US VPN server to watch anything.

Australia

You can watch the entire ICC World Cup live on FOX Sports. England vs. South Africa will start at 7:30 PM AEST, and while we don’t know which channel this match will be on as yet, it will almost certainly be FOX Cricket.

Already a Foxtel TV customer? If so, you can simply log in to Foxtel Go and watch every Cricket World Cup fixture online. Users who don’t have cable can sign up for Foxtel Now instead; the required channels usually cost $40 AUD per month, but there’s a 10-day trial, meaning you’ll be able to stream the first 13 games (including England vs. South Africa) for free. Just remember to cancel afterwards so your card isn’t charged.

Foxtel Now and Foxtel Go are only available in Australia. Additionally, they ask for an Australian phone number during registration, making it difficult for foreign users to sign up. Australians in other countries can access it as normal from abroad using a VPN.

Sub-Saharan Africa

SuperSport has exclusive rights to show the Cricket World Cup (and as a result, the England vs. South Africa game) in Sub-Saharan African countries like South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda. These matches will be shown live on SuperSport 2, but they’ll only be available for paid subscribers.

You can’t sign up for SuperSport directly. Instead, users have to log in with their DStv account, and as DStv only install their services at African addresses, it’s effectively impossible for foreigners to register.

SuperSport is geo-restricted, and only available in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, DStv subscribers who are travelling abroad can still sign in as normal by connecting to a VPN server in their home country.

Latin America & The Caribbean

ESPN will be broadcasting England vs. South Africa live across Latin American and Caribbean countries. If your cable package includes ESPN, you’ll be able to stream them all online either on the ESPN website or the WatchESPN app. It’s also possible to sign up for an online-only pass in some countries, but this usually requires a local phone number.

Other locations

While we’ve covered several of the ways you can stream the ICC World Cup above, this event is showing in too many regions for us to address each country individually. Additionally, there are still some countries such as Canada, France, Germany, and Spain which don’t have an official broadcaster just yet. Luckily, the ICC website contains an exhaustive, up-to-date list of every international England vs. South Africa broadcaster, which will let you know exactly how you can watch this match, wherever you are in the world.

ICC Cricket World Cup schedule

Can England beat South Africa?

England is the current favorite to win this year’s Cricket World Cup, in large part due to the team’s recent performance over the last 18 months coupled with home advantage. This team plays more aggressively than past England teams and the current lineup includes Eoin Morgan, who’s scored more runs for England (during ODI games) than any other player and big hitters like Jos Buttler.

On the other hand, South Africa are more likely to win if historical data is anything to go on. This country has a 54% win percentage over England in ODI fixtures, and this year, boasts a well-rounded squad featuring some of the best batsmen and bowlers in the world. Neither team has ever won the World Cup, though so there is added pressure.