England kick off a packed 12 months of Test cricket this first of a two-match series against Sri Lanka – watch every ball with our live stream guide below.
The matches mark England’s second away series in the inaugural ICC World Test Championship, with Joe Root’s men looking to replicate their last tour of Sri Lanka, which saw them whitewash their hosts 3-0 back in November 2018.
The home side comes into this series off the back of a 2-0 defeat to South Africa, but that result masks the fact that the Lions performed really well, having been beset with injuries throughout.
Perhaps more importantly for the hosts, that series eased the Lions back into action, having not played a long-form match in over a year.
Having played all summer, England won’t have the excuse of being rusty here, but they will nevertheless face Sri Lanka with some notable absentees.
All-rounder Moeen Ali is set to be unavailable for both matches after testing positive for Covid-19 on arrival in Sri Lanka, while Ben Stokes is rested and Ollie Pope has been forced out thanks to a shoulder injury.
Things look somewhat more positive for the hosts. Dhananjaya de Silva, Suranga Lakmal, Kasun Rajitha and Dinesh Chandimal, were all missing for Sri Lanka against South Africa, but look set to play a part against England.
It’s set to be a hard-fought opening Test between two sides looking to make a good start to 2021 – read for full details on how to get a live stream of Sri Lanka vs England no matter where you are in the world with our 1st Test guide below.
Sri Lanka vs England – 1st Test cricket: Where and when?
This first Test takes place at the Galle International Stadium in Galle between the 14th and 18th of January.
Each day of play will start at 10am IST local time.
That makes it an early 4.30am GMT start for England fans tuning in from the UK, a 3.30pm AEDT kick-off in Australia and a 6.30pm ET / 11.30pm ET/8.30pm night start in North America.
Watch Sri Lanka vs England – 1st Test cricket online from outside your country
We have details of all the US, UK, Australian and Canadian broadcasters of the 1st Test further down in this guide. If you’re intent on watching Sri Lanka vs England, but find yourself away from home then you’ll likely run into problems when trying to stream your domestic coverage online from abroad as it’s likely to be geo-blocked.
That’s where a VPN (Virtual Private Network) can be a lifesaver. They allow you to virtually change the ISP of your laptop, tablet or mobile to one that’s back in your home country, letting you watch as if you were back there.
VPN’s are incredibly easy to use and have the added benefit of giving you a further layer of security when surfing the web. There are lots of options, and we recommend ExpressVPN as our #1 pick due to its speed, security and ease of use. It can be used on a vast array of operating systems and devices (e.g. iOS, Android, Smart TVs, Fire TV Stick,
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How to stream Australia vs India live in the UK
Sky Sports Cricket has exclusive UK live broadcast rights to this Test series. If you’re a Sky Sports sunsriber, you’ll be able to watch each match live on your TV. You can also live stream all of the action on your phone or tablet using the Sky Go app.
Cord Cutters have a couple of flexible options for watching the action from the Galle International Stadium – a Now TV Sky Sports Pass will give you access to all 11 Sky Sports channels and costs £9.99 a day or £33.99 a month.
Coverage is set to start at 4am GMT on Sky Sports Cricket for the opening day of the Test on Thursday morning, before switching to a 4.25am start for days 2-5.
Live stream Sri Lanka vs England 1st Test live in India
With regular cricket broadcaster Sony Pictures Networks concentrating on their coverage of the Test series between Australia vs India as well as the Big Bash League, there’s unfortunately no confirmed broadcaster for this series in the region.
Live stream Sri Lanka vs England 1st Test live in Australia
Streaming service Kayo Sports is normally on hand for all things cricket when it comes to live coverage, but sadly that’s not the case for this series and indeed for any other broadcaster Down Under.
How to watch Sri Lanka vs England 1st Test online in the US exclusively on Willow TV
Willow TV has long been a godsend for cricket fans in the US, and it’s on hand once for those looking to watch the action from Sri Lanka Stateside with exclusive coverage in the US of this Test series.
The only drawback is that Willow won’t be showing the match live and will only be offering highlights of play from each day of 1st Test.
The service costs $9.99 a month and can also be accessed via streaming services such as Sling and Fubo.
If you find yourself unable to access Willow TV’s coverage because you’re out of the country, remember that you can use a VPN to tune into your usual coverage just like you would at home. Of the many options, ExpressVPN as outlined above, remains one of the best services currently out there.
