This is a timeline of the history of cricket on television in the UK.
1930s to 1970s
1938
On 24 June, the BBC broadcasts cricket - England vs Australia at Lord’s - on television for the first time.
1956
On 28 April, ITV - at that point only available in the London area and in the Midlands - shows cricket for the first time, when it exclusively shows the Australian touring team's match against the Duke of Norfolk's XI at Arundel Castle.
1963
20 July - BBC Grandstand features live coverage from the first day of the 3rd women's Test between England and Australia at The Oval. This is the earliest known live television broadcast of women's Test cricket. 7 September – The BBC shows live coverage of the final of the first Gillette Cup final.
1965
2 May – Sunday Cricket is broadcast for the first time. The programme, which runs throughout the afternoon on BBC2, features full coverage of a match "played under knock-out rules".
1968
29 and 30 July - ITV shows test cricket for the only time, and only part-networked, when the last two days of the Headingley Test against Australia coincide with the launch of Yorkshire Television. The morning session is the first thing shown on Thames Television, before its official opening. 7 September - The new ITV company London Weekend Television wins the rights to show the Gillette Cup final between Warwickshire and Sussex. This coverage is only partially networked, with other regions cutting off their coverage earlier, but coverage of the finish - shown principally in the London and Southern areas - is faded out with six minutes to go to make way for advertising and then David Frost's programme. Subsequently, there is only very occasional networked or even part-networked cricket coverage on ITV, although regional coverage continues on occasions into the 1990s.
1969
27 April – Sunday Cricket begins broadcasting a match each week from the new Sunday League.
1972
A new one-day competition, the Benson & Hedges Cup, begins and the BBC provides live coverage of a match from each round.
1975
7–21 June – The BBC shows extensive live coverage of the first Cricket World Cup. The BBC also shows full coverage of the 1979 World Cup.
1980s
1980
No events.
1981
17 May – Sunday Grandstand launches. The programme includes weekly coverage of the Sunday League which had been shown every Sunday afternoon during the cricket season on BBC2 since 1965.
1982
No events.
1983
6 January – The Channel 9 broadcast of the fifth cricket Test from Sydney is shown on the BBC. This is the first time cricket from abroad is shown live in England. 9–25 June – The BBC shows extensive live coverage of the 1983 Cricket World Cup.
1984
No events.
1985
No events.
1986
November–January 1987 – The BBC shows occasional live coverage of the English cricket team in Australia in 1986–87 although the vast majority of its coverage is in highlights form. The live coverage consists of occasional sessions from the Ashes matches and of England's appearance in the final of the Benson & Hedges Challenge on 7 January 1987.
1987
16 July - Channel 4 show the first day-long coverage of women's cricket in the UK when England play Australia at Lord's. Coverage begins at 10.45 am and finishes at 6.30 pm, with breaks for the lunch and tea intervals. However, only the late-night highlights are shown in Wales, where S4C show Glamorgan against Pakistan instead. 9 October–8 November – The BBC covers the 1987 Cricket World Cup. However due to the time difference – the tournament is held in India and Pakistan – live coverage is restricted to England’s matches and then only the final overs of each game are shown live. The only exception is the final itself which is broadcast live and in full.
1988
February–March – ITV shows highlights of England’s tour to New Zealand, the first coverage of the England team on ITV for two decades. Yorkshire Television and TVS initially buy the rights; coverage is also taken by London ITV and in the Channel Islands.
1989
No events.
1990s
1990
January–March – Sky shows live coverage of England's cricketing tour to the West Indies. This is the first time that live coverage of an overseas tour has been shown in the UK. The coverage is broadcast on Sky One.
1991
No events.