From key markets to different selections, below we have assembled a comprehensive guide on how to bet on cricket.
How to bet on cricket
The sport of cricket can be complex and there are myriad different betting markets on offer for bettors, ranging from pre-tournament and pre-match to a wealth of in-play opportunities as the match is taking place.
Here is our guide to betting on cricket.
Tournament / Competition betting
This refers to betting on who will be the outright winner of a particular tournament, such as the Men's Cricket World Cup or Women's Hundred, or series, like The Ashes.
Tournament betting features every team taking part but can have only one winner, while the draw is also an option when betting on the winner of a particular series.
Pre-match betting
Anything pre-match refers to betting markets that are on offer before a match has started.
There are a number of different markets to bet on pre-match. We have run down some of the most popular pre-match cricket markets below.
Win Outright
This refers to who will win the match in question.
There are usually only two options for limited-overs matches (one-day internationals, T20 matches etc) as, in the event of a tie, these matches can go to a 'Super Over' to determine a winner.
Bettors can also bet on the draw in Test matches in addition to each of the two sides.
Matches that are abandoned are treated as void for betting purposes.
To Win the Toss
This market relates to which of the two sides playing wins the coin toss that takes place before a match starts.
Top Batter
Top batter markets allow bettors to predict which player will score the most runs, either for their respective team or across the entire match.
In Test matches, the respective team's top batter markets usually refer to each side's first innings only.
Dead-heat rules apply if two or more players score the same number of runs.
Top Bowler
As with the top batter markets, there are top bowler markets on offer for each of the two teams playing and the entire match.
Betting in the top bowler market is simply a bet on which player will take the most wickets for their team or across the whole game.
Pre-match top team bowler bets are usually for the first innings of a game, but, crucially, unlike top batter bets, there are no dead heats.
If two or more players take the same number of wickets, the bowler with the least number of runs conceded is deemed the winner.
Runs at fall of first wicket
This market predicts how many runs will have been scored at the time the first wicket of the match or each side's innings falls.
Betting on the runs at the fall of the first wicket is usually an over/under scenario, with bookmakers setting a half-point line, for example 23.5.
In this case, a bet on under the line would oblige if the first wicket was taken with the score on 23 or less and overs would be a winner if the opening batsmen score 24 or more.
Method of Dismissal
There are 10 modes of dismissal in cricket, although five are extremely rare.
By far the most common ways of getting out are bowled, caught, lbw, run out or stumped. Batters can also be dismissed if they dislodge the bails in the act of a delivery, called hit wicket, hit the ball twice or handle the ball.
Obstructing the field is when a batter is adjudged to have stopped a fielder from taking a catch or running them out.
The final method of dismissal is to be timed out, which happens when the next batter takes too long to reach the crease after the fall of a wicket.
Betting on the method of dismissal is a prediction on how a batter will get out.
Different Format betting (T20, ODI, Test)
Cricket has evolved during its long history and is now played over a number of formats.
Test matches are the preserve of the traditionalists and are contested over five days. Each side has two opportunities to bat, called innings.
While Tests are traditionally played with a red ball, one-day matches are played with a white ball and are sometimes referred to as limited-overs games, as each side has a set number of overs to bat in the game.
One-day internationals are contested over 50 overs, or 300 balls, per side, while some domestic one-day competitions can be 40 or 45 overs-per-side affairs.
T20 cricket has fast become a dominant format since its inception at the start of the millennium, and many cash-rich franchise tournaments, such as the Indian Premier League, have sprung up globally in the last two decades. Twenty20 matches are contested over 20 overs per side.
The Hundred is the newest format on the market and sees each side get 100 balls to set or defend a total.
In-play bets
One of cricket's great qualities is that there is a mini-event within the wider game with every ball.
In-play betting allows bettors to bet on macro markets such as how many runs will be scored off the next ball or over, when the next wicket will fall or how many runs a team will score in their innings with the current state of play factored in.
