Add Live Cricket Score to WordPress: 5 Methods (2026)

For most sites, this is where I start. Nine times out of ten, it is also where I stop.

A provider hosts the scoreboard. You paste one snippet into a Custom HTML block, and the score card shows up where you put it. No plugin. No database tables. Nothing to break when WordPress updates.

CricketData.org has a free scrolling widget with fixtures, live matches, and results. No API key, no usage limit. CricTimes and the official IPL.com widget are good too, and the IPL one needs no account at all.

How to add it (step by step)

1. Pick a widget layout from the provider and copy its script or iframe snippet.
2. Edit the page or post and add a Custom HTML block where you want the score card.
3. Paste the snippet and publish.
4. Reserve the widget's height in your theme so the page does not jump when it loads.

The catch is design control. You get the provider's look, not yours.

For a blog or a news post, that is a fair trade for a two-minute job.

Showing live IPL scores

During the IPL, this is the method most blogs reach for. The IPL.com widget needs no account and carries official fixtures and live scores. CricketData.org embeds IPL matches too. Drop either into the same Custom HTML block and you have an IPL scoreboard in a couple of minutes.

The same widget on a website or Blogger

The embed is plain HTML, so it is not tied to WordPress. The same snippet works on a static site, and on Blogger you paste it into an HTML/JavaScript gadget. Reserve the height there too, or the layout jumps on mobile.

A plugin keeps everything inside WordPress. Install it, set it up, drop a shortcode. You never touch embed code.

The whole risk in 2026 is picking a dead one. And most of them are dead.

So check three things on the plugin's directory page before you install anything: the last-tested WordPress version, the date of the last update, and whether the author has left a discontinuation note.

Old scores are not the worry here. These plugins pull live data from a feed, so the numbers stay current.

The plugin itself is the risk. An unmaintained one breaks on the next WordPress or PHP update, stops getting security fixes, and goes blank the day its feed changes.

How to add it (step by step)

1. Go to Plugins → Add New and search for a current, maintained cricket score plugin.
2. Confirm it is tested against a recent WordPress version, then install and activate.
3. Open its settings and choose the series or competitions to display.
4. Copy the generated shortcode and paste it into a page, post, or widget area.

// Via the WordPress admin
Plugins → Add New → search a maintained cricket plugin → Install → Activate
// then place its shortcode, e.g.
[cricket-score type="live"]

An API gives you the raw match data and nothing else. Your theme decides how the score looks, where it sits, and how often it refreshes.

This is the route for a publisher who wants the scoreboard to match the rest of the site, pixel for pixel.

One quick warning before you shop. People search for a "Cricbuzz API" all the time. Cricbuzz has no official public API, so anything sold under that name is scraping the site and can break or get blocked without notice.

Use a provider that actually sells API access. The maintained options:

One thing matters more than everything else here: caching.

Never call the API on every page view. You will burn through the free tier in an afternoon, and slow the page down on top of it.

Fetch on a timer, store the result in a transient, and serve from the cache:

$cached = get_transient( 'live_cricket_scores' );

if ( false === $cached ) {
    $response = wp_remote_get( $api_url, array( 'timeout' => 10 ) );
    $cached   = wp_remote_retrieve_body( $response );
    set_transient( 'live_cricket_scores', $cached, 5 * MINUTE_IN_SECONDS );
}

Then render the match name and status in your own template. Handle the empty cases too: an innings break, no live match, a timeout. The page should never show a raw error to a reader.

The markup is the easy part. The caching and the error states are the real work.

Some sites want more than one score card. They want a full cricket section: series, fixtures, teams, players, points tables. A premium all-in-one plugin builds all of that as real WordPress pages.

It is the heaviest option on this list. Usually a one-time licence instead of a monthly API fee.

Where to get one. Two routes are worth your time.

Roanuz ships an official WordPress plugin backed by its own API. You get series, matches, and scorecards through shortcodes, and the vendor is clearly still active.

CodeCanyon is the other route. It has paid scripts like CricketBuzz, but most of its cricket listings are mobile apps and betting templates. Filter to WordPress, sort by sales, and read the last-update date before you pay.

Check the vendor first. Ultimate Live Cricket (ULCWP) is the warning here. Its free Lite version was pulled from WordPress.org in December 2025 for a guideline violation, and its paid site no longer loads. I checked, and it would not open.

A premium plugin is only as good as the team behind it. Open their site, check the changelog date, and look for recent support replies. If the vendor has gone quiet, so has your scoreboard.

How to add it (step by step)

1. Buy and download the plugin from the vendor or marketplace.
2. Upload it from Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin, then activate.
3. Complete the setup screen and connect the data source or API key.
4. Add the generated pages to your navigation, or place the supplied shortcode.

An ad-supported widget gives you a free score card. In return, the provider keeps its own branding, links, or ads inside it.

The clearest option right now is Criczop, by Gamezop. The widget is free, you can style it, and it refreshes often.

Here is the part most people miss: it also shares revenue. When a reader clicks through from your widget, they land on your Criczop link, and you get a cut of the ad money those visits earn. The scoreboard turns into a small source of income instead of just a feature.

Where to get it. Sign up as a Gamezop publisher, get a Criczop Property ID, and turn the widget on from the dashboard. It takes about ten minutes.

How to add it (step by step)

1. Create a Gamezop publisher account and request your Criczop Property ID.
2. Choose the layout and colours in the dashboard.
3. Copy the supplied script.
4. Paste it into a Custom HTML block on the relevant page or sidebar.

The downside is control and clutter. You are handing part of the page to someone else.

For a hobby site or a seasonal traffic spike, that is a fine deal. For a brand you are trying to build, think it through first.