How to watch England vs Sri Lanka and live stream 1st Test online or on TV, hosts just ahead going into Day 4

Having already comfortably beaten the West Indies, England now welcome Sri Lanka to their shores for another three-game Test series. It commences at Old Trafford in Manchester and the England vs Sri Lanka 1st Test live stream started on Wednesday, August 21 and runs to Sunday, August 25.

Below, are all the details for England vs Sri Lanka live streaming services in the US, UK and Australia. But don't worry if you're on holiday while it's on because you can watch ENG vs SL live streams from anywhere with a VPN.

The big story in the England camp leading up to this series is the absence of their captain, talisman and star all-rounder Ben Stokes. Injured during The Hundred, he'll miss all three Tests. With Zak Crawley also injured, in-form Surrey man Dan Lawrence partners Ben Duckett at the top of England's order. It also means Ollie Pope is captaining his country for the first time — he was helped greatly on Day 1 as his five-man bowling attack bowled Sri Lanka for 236.

Sri Lanka's preparations for this series were far from ideal, beaten convincingly by an inexperienced England Lions XI last week by 7 wickets. Going down three wickets for six runs at the start of play on Day 1 — after captain Dhananjaya de Silva elected to bat, too — only made matters worse. Thankfully the skipper and debutant Milan Rathnayake steadied the ship with knocks of 70-odd each.

With the ball, Sri Lanka stuck to their task well, but were thwarted by a superb maiden Test ton from young Jamie Smith. Now it's up to Sri Lanka to tray and avoid the rain to build as big a lead as they can to give their spinners something to bowl at in the fourth innings. They enter Day 4 with a slim lead of 82 and only four wickets remaining. That means England are still favorites to win the 1st Test — but not by much.

If you're not sure of your best options for getting an England vs Sri Lanka live stream, we have all the details you need on this page — including ways to watch cricket online from anywhere in the world.

How to watch England vs Sri Lanka live stream in the US

To watch England vs Sri Lanka stateside, you'll need access to Willow TV. It's available as part of some cable TV plans or you can watch directly through the streamer.

Alternatively, you can get Willow action through the OTT streaming specialist Sling TV.

The live TV streaming service Sling TV lets you stream cable channels over the internet. Best of all, there's no need to subscribe to a full Sling package to watch the cricket.

On your choice of Sling's Desi Binge Plus or Dakshin Flex plans, you'll find the Willow TV deals from only $10 per month only or $99 for a whole year of live cricket. And you can cancel at any time you wish.

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How to watch England vs Sri Lanka in the UK

Sky Sports has the rights to show all of England men's home Test matches in the UK and the 1st Sri Lanka Test will be shown across its Sky Sports Cricket and Main Event stations. The action starts at 11 am UK on Wednesday morning and, weather permitting, runs until between 6 and 7 pm each evening.

Sky TV base packages currently start from £26 per month. You can then add the full Sky Sports suite for an additional £22. Or, for new customers, pay from £43 a month for a package that includes Sky Sports.

If you'd sooner not commit to a full Sky package, flexible Now Sports Memberships are also available for £14.99 a day or from as little as £26 a month.

It's worth noting that the BBC Two and the BBC Player streaming service have free daily highlights at 7 pm on each day of the Test.

How to watch England vs Sri Lanka in Australia

You can watch England vs Sri Lanka in Australia on Fox Cricket 501, with play starting each evening at 8 pm AEST.

If you don't have Fox and want and don't wish to subscribe, sports streaming specialist Kayo Sports will also show this and the other games of the series, with monthly rolling plans starting from $25.

How to watch England vs Sri Lanka from anywhere with a VPN

If you're going to be away from your normal TV setup but still want to watch England vs Sri Lanka, 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 into live cricket or other content even if you're not there. Our favorite is NordVPN, which is the No. 1-rated VPN in the world right now according to our sister site, TechRadar.

How to use a VPN to watch any stream

• Download the app at NordVPN
• Choose the location of the streaming service you want to watch (UK, US, etc)
• Navigate to the streaming service and start watching!

NordVPN is one of the simplest and most affordable ways to watch what you want, from wherever 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. Give it a go.

What time does the England vs Sri Lanka match begin?

The 1st five-day Test match between England and Sri Lanka starts on Wednesday, August 21, with the fifth and final day on Sunday, August 25.

Each day's play starts at 11 am UK, which is 6 am ET / 3 am PT / 8 pm AEST.

What are the series dates for England vs Sri Lanka in 2024?

• 1st Test: August 21-25 — Old Trafford, Manchester
• 2nd Test: Aug 29 - Sep 2 — Lord's, London
• 3rd Test: September 6-10 — The Oval, London

All you need to know about England vs Sri Lanka