How to Listen to Live Cricket Commentary on the Radio

Cricket and radio suit each other. A match lasts for hours, and you often cannot sit in front of a screen: you are at work, in a car, on a bus or in the kitchen. A commentator who describes every ball lets you follow along with one ear while you do something else.

Here is how to find commentary online and how to get the most out of it.

Where to look

Open the sports and cricket radio page. It lists live stations with commentary, sports talk and match shows. Some stations only carry commentary during big games, so the page may be quieter on days without a match.

Many countries have their own radio coverage. You can also look at the pages for Pakistan, India, the UK, Australia, South Africa and the UAE, where local stations often carry home matches.

What a station might broadcast

During a big series, tournament or league, you may find:

• Ball-by-ball commentary of the match.
• Pre-match and post-match shows with experts and guests.
• Sports news bulletins with scores from other games.
• Call-in shows where fans argue about selection and tactics.

What is on air depends on the station and on broadcast rights. Some stations are only allowed to play commentary inside their own country, so if one will not play, try another from the same page.

Tips for following a match on the radio

1. Start early. Open the station before the first ball so you are sure it works.
2. Check the time zone. A match in Australia or England can start in the middle of the night in Pakistan or India.
3. Have a second station ready. If one drops, switch to another straight away. This guide explains why streams stop.
4. Mind your data. A radio stream uses a modest amount of data compared with video, which makes it handy on a mobile plan, but long matches add up.
5. Keep it going in your pocket. On a phone, allow your browser to run in the background so the sound does not stop when the screen locks.

For blind and low-vision fans

Commentary was made for listeners. Every station on Sur Music is a labelled button, so a screen reader can read its name, and the keyboard shortcuts let you pause or change station without looking. See our accessibility guide.

When there is no match on

Switch to sports talk or news radio for scores and discussion, or put on some music while you wait for the next game.

If you know a station that carries good commentary and it is missing here, send us its name.