How to watch the Cricket World Cup 2023 online or on TV

England's Liam Plunkett bats during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 final against New Zealand.
England's Liam Plunkett bats during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 final against New Zealand. (Image credit: Getty Images)

After a solid six weeks of cricket action, the ICC Cricket World Cup is set to wrap up when the final takes place on Sunday, November 19. Two of the top teams in the world, India and Australia, are set to do battle on that fateful day.

Quick links

US: Willow Sports (via Sling TV)
UK:
Sky Sports
AU: Kayo Sports | Foxtel Sports | 9Now (free)
Watch abroad:
ExpressVPN

This quadrennial cricket tournament is being hosted by India this year, and it uses the ODI format for one-day show-downs. Ten teams are taking part, and each will play all the other teams before the end, with the final falling on Sunday, November 19.

Defending champions England are joined by the World Cup titans Australia, hosts India, and many other top teams. 

The Cricket World Cup wraps up a busy year for cricket, with the IPL 2023, Ashes (both men's and women's), Major League Cricket and The Hundred all giving fans of the sport plenty of action to watch earlier in the year.

But let's get to the important information first: here's how to watch the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, whether you want to do it online or on TV.

How to watch the Cricket World Cup 2023 in the UK

The UK broadcaster for the Cricket World Cup is Sky, so to watch the games you'll need to subscribe to Sky Sports while they're on. Games generally begin mid-morning, around 8.30 am or 9.30 am, though some begin at 6 am.

Sky will be showing all the games on its various channels, though we don't have the guide for which just yet. We'd recommend checking between Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Mix, as those are generally the channels it uses for events like this.

Sky Sports costs £56 per month — that's £29 for the base Sky Entertainment & Netflix plan and another £27 for the Sky Sports add-on. This is on a 31-day rolling contract too, and you can save £5 in total per month if you opt for an 18-month contract instead.

Don't want to pay? Channel 5 will be showing the final, with its coverage beginning at 7.30. It's actually just a telecast of Sky's coverage, so it'll all be the same.

Here are the days of England's matches, plus when they take place and who the team is up against:

  • New Zealand: Thursday, October 5, 9:30 am
  • Bangladesh: Tuesday, October 10, 6 am
  • Afghanistan: Sunday, October 15, 9:30 am
  • South Africa: Sunday, October 21, 9.30 am
  • Sri Lanka: Thursday, October 26, 9:30 am
  • India: Sunday, October 29, 8:30 am
  • Australia: Saturday, November 4, 8:30 am
  • Netherlands: Wednesday, November 8, 8:30 am
  • Pakistan: Saturday, November 11, 8:30 am

How to watch the Cricket World Cup 2023 in Australia

Fox has the rights to air the entirety of the Cricket World Cup in 2023, so if you want to catch most of the matches, you'll want a Foxtel Sports subscription, or access to Kayo Sports.

This latter is your cheapest option, costing $25 per month, and it lets you watch from Foxtel's sports options. The catch is that you have to stream them online, it's not a TV option. You can find Kayo Sports here.

To watch on TV, you'll need Foxtel Sports. This costs $77 per month, though there's a discount if you commit to a year's plan which brings it down to $58.60 each month. Some of Foxtel's top-end bundles, like Premium or Platinum Plus, also include sports streaming but they cost more than the Sports package. Use Foxtel's app to stream instead of watching on TV if you'd rather watch online.

You can find all of the Foxtel plans here.

If you're only interested in the Aussie games, though, there's a way to watch for free: Channel 9 is showing all of these games, either on its TV channel or 9Now, and it won't cost you anything. This is also the case for the semi-finals and final, whether or not Australia makes it to this stage.

Here's a list of Australia's fixtures, including who the team is up against and when it takes place:

  • India: Sunday, October 8, 6:30 pm
  • South Africa: Thursday, October 12, 6:30 pm
  • Sri Lanka: Monday, October 16, 6:30 pm
  • Pakistan: Friday, October 20, 6:30 pm
  • Netherlands: Wednesday, October 25, 6:30 pm
  • New Zealand: Saturday, October 28, 3 pm
  • England: Saturday, November 4, 5:30 pm
  • Afghanistan: Tuesday, November 7, 5:30 pm
  • Bangladesh: Saturday, November 11, 2 pm

How to watch the Cricket World Cup in the US

If you're a cricket fan in the US, you probably know what we're about to say here: to watch the Cricket World Cup, you'll need to use Willow TV.

Willow TV, and Willow Xtra, are two cable channels that are often considered the home of cricket in the US. If you don't have a cable plan that includes the channels, though, there's still a way to watch.

That's because the live TV streaming service Sling TV, which lets you stream cable channels over the internet, also has an add-on pack called World Sports which includes Willow TV. In total this bundle costs $50 per month: $40 for Sling TV (either the Blue or Orange plan is fine) and $10 for World Sports, though you get $10 off your first month as part of a streaming deal.

How to watch the Cricket World Cup 2023 everywhere else

If you're going to be away from your normal TV setup but still want to watch the Cricket World Cup , you might run into some problems. Thankfully, you can solve this exact issue with a Virtual Private Network (VPN). 

A VPN lets you change your IP address to that of the area of what you want to watch, meaning you can tune in to your favorite sports like cricket or other content even if you're not there. Our favorite is ExpressVPN, which is the No. 1-rated VPN in the world right now according to our sister site, TechRadar.

ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN is one of the simplest and most affordable ways to watch what you want from anywhere you want to watch it. 

It's straightforward and easy to use, has great security, is available on loads of streaming devices and, best of all, it comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can try it out 100% risk-free.

Cricket World Cup fixtures and schedule

At the time of writing, there's no confirmed schedule for the Cricket World Cup 2023. However the International Cricket Council has announced an early schedule, and while it's subject to change, it gives a good sense at when each game will take place. Here it is:

Thursday, October 5

  • England (283/1) v New Zealand (282/9)

Friday, October 6

  • Pakistan (286) v Netherlands (205)

Saturday, October 7

  • Bangladesh (158/4) v Afghanistan (156)
  • South Africa (428/5) v Sri Lanka (326)

Sunday, October 8

  • India (201/4) v Australia (199)

Monday, October 9

  • New Zealand (322/7) v Netherlands (233)

Tuesday, October 10

  • England (364/9) v Bangladesh (227)
  • Pakistan (354/4) v Sri Lanka (344/9

Wednesday, October 11

  • India (273/2) v Afghanistan (272/8)

Thursday, October 12

  • Australia (177) v South Africa (311/7)

Friday, October 13

  • New Zealand (248/2) v Bangladesh (245/9)

Saturday, October 14

  • India (192/3) v Pakistan (191)

Sunday, October 15

  • England (215) v Afghanistan (284)

Monday, October 16

  • Australia (215/5) v Sri Lanka (209)

Tuesday, October 17

  • South Africa (207) v Netherlands (245/3)

Netherlands' Wesley Barresi bowled out by Sri Lanka's Dilshan Madushanka in the World Cup qualifiers.

(Image credit: ICC via Getty Images)

Wednesday, October 18

  • New Zealand (288/6) v Afghanistan (139)

Thursday, October 19

  • India (261/3) v Bangladesh (256/8)

Friday, October 20

  • Australia (367/9)  v Pakistan (305)

Saturday, October 21

  • Netherlands (262) v Sri Lanka (263/5)
  • England (170) v South Africa (399/7)

Sunday, October 22

  • India (274/6) v New Zealand (273)

Monday, October 23

  • Pakistan (282/7) v Afghanistan (286/2)

Tuesday, October 24

  • South Africa (382/5) v Bangladesh (233)

Wednesday, October 25

  • Australia (399/8) v Netherlands (90)

Thursday, October 26

  • England (156) v Sri Lanka (160/2)

Friday, October 27

  • Pakistan (270) v South Africa (271/9)

Saturday, October 28

  • Australia (388) v New Zealand (383/9)
  • Netherlands (229) v Bangladesh (142)

Sunday, October 29

  • England (129) v India (229/9)

Monday, October 30

  • Afghanistan (242/3) v Sri Lanka (241)

Tuesday, October 31

  • Pakistan (205/3) v Bangladesh (204)

Wednesday, November 1

  • New Zealand (167) v South Africa (357/4)

Thursday, November 2

  • India (357/8) v Sri Lanka (55)

Friday, November 3

  • Netherlands (179) v Afghanistan (181/3)

Saturday, November 4

  • New Zealand (401/6) v Pakistan (200/1)
  • England (253) v Australia (286)

Sunday, November 5

  • India (326/5) v South Africa (83)

Monday, November 6

  • Bangladesh v Sri Lanka, 3:30 am ET/12:30 am PT/8:30 am UK

Tuesday, November 7

  • Afghanistan v Australia, 3:30 am ET/12:30 am PT/8:30 am UK

Wednesday, November 8

  • England v Netherlands, 3:30 am ET/12:30 am PT/8:30 am UK

Thursday, November 9

  • New Zealand v Sri Lanka, 3:30 am ET/12:30 am PT/8:30 am UK

Friday, November 10

  • South Africa v Afghanistan, 3:30 am ET/12:30 am PT/8:30 am UK

Saturday, November 11

  • Australia v Bangladesh, midnight ET/9 pm PT (day prior)/ 5 am UK
  • England v Pakistan, 3:30 am ET/12:30 am PT/8:30 am UK

Sunday, November 12

  • India v Netherlands, 3:30 am ET/12:30 am PT/8:30 am UK

Wednesday, November 15

  • SEMI-FINAL: 1st-placed team v 4th-placed team, 3:30 am ET/12:30 am PT/8:30 am UK

Thursday, November 16

  • SEMI-FINAL: 2nd-placed team v 3rd-placed team, 3:30 am ET/12:30 am PT/8:30 am UK

Sunday, November 19

  • FINAL: semi-final winners, 3:30 am ET/12:30 am PT/8:30 am UK

All you need to know about the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023

Who's playing in the Cricket World Cup?

There are 10 teams in total in the Cricket World Cup; here are all of them, including how they qualified for the tournament. At the time of writing, squads haven't been announced.

  • India (host)
  • Afghanistan (ICC Super League #7)
  • Australia (ICC Super League #6)
  • Bangladesh (ICC Super League #3)
  • England (ICC Super League #2)
  • New Zealand (ICC Super League #1)
  • Pakistan (ICC Super League #5)
  • South Africa (ICC Super League #8)
  • Sri Lanka (qualifiers) 
  • Netherlands (qualifiers)

Where does the Cricket World Cup take place?

India is hosting the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, with ten stadiums dotted about the country seeing action.

We'll list them below, including the name and city of the stadium. All are seeing five matches except the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad, which only gets three.

  • Ahmedabad — Narendra Modi Stadium
  • Bangalore — M. Chinnaswamy Stadium
  • Chennai — M. A. Chidambaram Stadium
  • Delhi — Arun Jaitley Stadium
  • Dharamshala — HPCA Stadium
  • Hyderabad — Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium
  • Kolkata — Eden Gardens
  • Lucknow — BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium
  • Mumbai — Wankhede Stadium
  • Pune — Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium

What type of cricket does the Cricket World Cup play?

Each of the Cricket World Cup games will use One Day International play, with the cup considered the main championship for this type of cricket.

ODI cricket games finish within a day, hence the name, but aren't as short as Twenty20 or Hundred-ball. In an ODI each team faces 50 overs (a number that's changed over time) or as many as they can before the entire team is out.

The first team to bat has to score as high as possible in their allotted overs, or until they're all out, and the second team to bat has to score more runs in the same time, or before they're bowled out.

Tom Bedford
Streaming and Ecommerce Writer

Tom is the streaming and ecommerce writer at What to Watch, covering streaming services in the US and UK. His goal is to help you navigate the busy and confusing online video market, to help you find the TV, movies and sports that you're looking for without having to spend too much money.