Cricket, also known as the gentleman’s sport originated in the United Kingdom in the 19th century. Then, known as the British Empire, the English helped spread the sport to other Commonwealth countries. In fact, cricket is popular among several nations that were affiliated with the British Empire over the past two centuries. India, Australia, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Canada, etc. all have professional teams, club cricket, and T20 cricket. So punters have ample choice when it comes to betting on cricket games. Over the last few decades, punters face prolific issues such as match-fixing in the form of dropping catches, giving extras, throwing the game when betting on cricket. Hansje Krone and more recently, S.Sreesanth are players who disgraced the game and managed to get caught as well. At one point, the entire Chennai Super Kings franchise was banned for 2 years from the Indian Premier League for match-fixing games. It’s important that punters understand how to bet on cricket with so many moving parts and sometimes when the game itself is rigged.
Types Of Games
Cricket is played in various formats at a time and punters can take advantage by betting on test games, one day matches, T20 games, etc. Some of the types of cricket formats include:
1. Test Match
A test match is a 5-day match in which each team gets two innings. The first team will try to post a high score while the second team will try to chase that high score down. Most test matches end in a draw because most teams tend to play safe over the course of 5 days. While most matches end in a draw, most test series don’t and a single win or loss can tilt the series. Punters need to have a lot of patience if they’re betting on the outright end result as it can take up to 5 days.
2. One Day
The one day format of cricket has been popular for most of the 20th and 21st centuries. It involves each team playing 50 overs (each over is 6 legitimate balls by a single bowler). The team batting first sets a target while the team chasing tries to score more in the 50 overs. Each team has only 10 wickets and if all wickets fall, then the next team tries to match the score set. One day matches are the most common and feature the most bet on cricket action.
3. T-20
The T20 version is the most recent version of cricket. It’s a much fast-paced version of the 50 over format. Each team gets 20 overs to try and set a target while the next team tries to chase it down. Because of the limited-overs, draw matches tend to occur more frequently than one day matches, but less frequently than test matches.
4. Domestic
Each country has its own version of domestic cricket, county cricket, and leagues across the globe. India has the IPL, Australia has the KFC League, England has county cricket, and so on. Punters keen on following domestic matches can spot an edge in certain games or matchups.
5. World Cup
The World Cup is played between 10 teams or more for the most valued trophy in International cricket. The tournament is held once every 4 years, similar to other World Cup sporting events. Most cricket fans anxiously wait for their countries to be represented at the World Cup. This event gives fans the opportunity to bet on cricket games, underdogs, table leaders, finalists, top scorers, top wicket-takers, and so on. Fans can also wait for the T20 World Cup, which is the T20 version of the World Cup held every 4 years, or within 2 years of a regular World cup.
In Game Bets
Punters need to be willing to learn and understand the game to bet on cricket. Important aspects include individual players, track records, individual head to head matchups, overs bowled, extras, etc. Betting on the winner of a match can be a long drawn battle for a single bet. Punters have the opportunity to bet on every ball bowled. That can go up to 600 balls bowled in a single day or even more. That’s 600 individual bets in a single game. Punters also have access to several other side bets such as extras, top scorer, most boundaries, most 6s, score after 10 overs, 20 overs, etc.
