This is a concise, simple and in-detail guide that has but one main goal – to teach you everything you need to know about cricket betting. To make sure you have lots of fun while reading, let me take you through the content I’ll be providing quickly:

I know that some people think that cricket is a boring game but trust me when I say, cricket betting has all the thrills of the big game, more than you can possibly imagine.

If you want to step up your cricket betting game and work those odds like a real professional, let’s not waste time and get right into it.

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The Rules of the Sport and How It’s Played

You’ll have much better results if you clearly understand how the sport of cricket works and what the rules are. From my experience, knowing what the sport entails helps you work the odds to your favor. Since I don’t want you to lose any money while betting on cricket, I’ll introduce you to what I think is essential to know.

The Rules

Cricket resembles Baseball. It includes a ball and a bat. While Baseball includes bases, cricket involves a 22-yard long rectangular playing field with wickets. The rules depend on the format and teams play one to two innings each.

The rules of the sport are regarded as laws, and they include 42 laws that cover every aspect of the game. The code of cricket was established in 1744 by London’ Marleybone Cricket Club. Either team counts 11 players and two batsmen.

The players score runs by:

  • Running between the wickets
  • Boundaries
  • Leg bye
  • Bye
  • No ball
  • Wide ball
  • Lost ball

Decisions are made based on two principles:

  • The two on-field umpires – they make sure the laws of the sport are upheld and are positioned at the striker’s leg-side and end. Umpires take care of the score and decision-making.
  • The third umpire – is positioned off the playing field and makes decisions based on video-reviews.

There are certain situations where the two on-field umpires can’t make a call or a decision with certainty, so they leave it to the third umpire who uses slow-motion videos to do a review. The team that scores more runs wins.

Cricket formats

Cricket is played in several different formats. The three main ones are:

  • Test cricket – commonly considered to be the most prestigious, test cricket is the sport’s highest standard. It’s an international sport that requires the official test status. Test cricket matches can last up to five days.
  • One day matches – a limited-overs format of cricket that can be played on a domestic or international level. Each team bets for a single innings with the maximum amount of innings being commonly limited to 50.
  • Twenty20 – this is the newest format that is most explosive and fastest. T20 is packed with entertainment and action, which makes it the most exciting form of cricket to bet on. Each innings includes 20 overs to be played. A match finishes in about 3 hours which makes T20 the most popular cricket format.

Types of Cricket Betting

There is a wide variety of different cricket betting types. Some are complicated, and others are very straightforward. You can bet on anything from which team will win a tournament to a specific match.

It’s best to stick to simple types of cricket betting if you’re a beginner until you’re ready to move on to something more advanced. I’d encourage you to inform yourself of as many options as you can as this will help to score big.

Here are some of the most basic and common types of cricket betting.

Match Betting

Considered to be the most basic and purest form of cricket betting, it involves placing your wager on the team that will win a match. Despite its simplicity, how bookmakers pay varies from bookmaker to bookmaker. Take all of the circumstances into consideration before you place your bets to make sure your efforts pay off.

Series Winner

One of the most common features of cricket includes two teams playing a series of matches. Take The Ashes series as the best example. It includes a series of 5 test matches played between Australia and England. If you take that one of these teams will win the series, you place your bet on the winner.

Outright Winner

The cricket tournament involves several teams participating and the outright winner can be any team. This type of cricket betting is a bit tricky as there are many teams to choose from. However, this variety makes the odds bigger, which means more substantial profits.

Tied Match

Tied match means the match ends in a draw and that’s where you place your bet. This type of cricket betting is most common for test matches as that is the cricket format where drawn games are common. Other basic cricket bets include:

  • Betting on the team that will win the toss at the beginning of the match
  • Total number of fours per match
  • Total number of runs per match

It’s also possible to place your bets on individual players before the match. This type of cricket betting includes:

  • Top batsman
  • Top bowler
  • Batsman contest

Advanced Cricket Betting

Advanced cricket betting includes newer forms of cricket betting. These wagers are an alternative way to place your bets beyond the types above. This type of cricket betting includes in-play or live betting, which is most popular among bettors, so much that it has become a real online phenomenon.

In-Play Betting

Live betting allows you to place bets during a match. The reason why this type of betting is so popular is that it gives you a lot of opportunities during the match development. Cricket matches last for hours, even days, and live betting provides enough opportunities to consider your betting options and make the odds work to your favor. During a match, a lot can happen. These instances can significantly impact the outcome. It takes skill to know how to use these instances and predict the possible outcome, but anything is possible with a bit of luck, knowledge, and experience.

Runs from Next Delivery

Cricket betting also allows you to place bets ball-by-ball during a match. With this type of cricket betting, you’re betting on the total number of runs scored. Again, it’s all about the instances that I’ve mentioned above.

Batsman Runs

A batsman can score under or over a specified number of runs, and you can place your bet just before the batsman faces their first delivery.

Method of Dismissal

In cricket, anything goes, and you can place bets on everything game-involved. That even includes how the wicket will fall during a match.

Handicap betting

I’d recommend this type of cricket betting only to those that know the game really well. Handicap betting means placing your bet on the team that has a big advantage over another. The bookmaker puts a handicap on the winning team. In order for your bet to become a winning bet, your favorite needs to overcome the handicap.

Create a Cricket Betting Strategy

To create an effective cricket betting strategy, you need to understand the laws of the game. It’s important to keep in mind that these laws directly impact the result of your bet. Make sure that you always check the regulations with your bookmaker regarding all possible outcomes before you place any bets.

You can find tons of cricket statistics on the net for free. Investing your time to study these statistics may just help you gain an advantage over the bookmaker.

Here are some essentials.

Bet on a Specific Player

You can tell a lot about a player by the hosting ground, their previous scores against the team and general form. Placing a bet on a specific player that performs well in a specific venue makes the odds work in your favor. The best type of cricket betting to place a bet on a specific player is live betting.

Always Go With the Best Line

Every outcome has a price to take into consideration before placing a bet. Also, take your time to do some research on the odds involving a specific match. Compare the prices and the odds to make sure you get the most value for your money. If you can’t find the best line, don’t place your bet.

Go With Home Teams

If you have any doubts about your betting choice, keep in mind that home teams are generally a good bet.

Go With a Cricket Bookmaker

Nowadays, there are so many online bookmakers that it’s really hard to choose the right one. If you want to get the best price possible, stick with an online bookmaker who specializes in cricket. They cover all of the cricket betting markets and offer special bets for big matches.

Cricket Tournaments and Leagues to Keep an Eye on

There’s a cricket match being played in some parts of the world as we speak. What I want to say is that most countries have domestic leagues of their own which are played on a monthly basis.

This means that there will be a lot of international tournaments. The more tournaments, the more matches. Every match is a great opportunity to score big. My top three picks to bet on would be:

  • The Indian Premier League
  • The Ashes
  • The ICC Cricket World Cup

Cricket Betting Tips and Essentials

You get a better chance of succeeding if you know how to assess possible outcomes to create the best cricket betting strategy. Here are my top cricket tips that should help you succeed.

Do Your Research on the Conditions

Pitch and weather conditions can directly change the course of a cricket match. Do your research on the playing field and weather conditions as this can greatly help to place your bets and win.

Don't Forget the Player Statistics

The best way to increase your chances and turn the odds to your favor is to learn all about player stats. This can greatly help to pick the right bet. Look at the stats like strike rate, average runs scored, record playing on specific pitches, conditions that suit particular players and so on. Look at how well a player has performed against spin bowlers and seam bowlers. Then, there’s also the player’s most recent form. Analyze all previous statistics to assess the possible outcome.

In-Play Value

If you want to choose your bets wisely, live betting is what I’d recommend. You have a chance to follow the game as it develops and pick the right moment to place your bet. Here are the aspects that you should consider:

  • Is the batsman known for scoring quickly?
  • Is the number of runs scored in the next over favorable to?
  • How quickly are wickets falling?
  • Is placing a bet on a wicket to fall in the next over a good consideration?

Go with the Best Odds

I’ve already mentioned that you should only go with the best bookmakers that offer the best odds. If you don’t want to miss out on profits, and I’m sure you don’t, compare all available odds at several different bookmakers before you make your decision.

Spend what you can afford only

Most people make a common mistake by placing a bet without thinking it through. This is just wrong as it almost always ends with you spending more than you can afford to lose. Since this can have devastating consequences, I’m going to emphasize the importance of this tip. Only spend what you can afford to lose and never place your bets without giving a good thought to it.

How to Win a Cricket Bet

Winning a cricket bet is possible with a little bit of luck and knowledge. There are three things to pay attention to.

Outcome

The outcome is your main starting point. Place your bet on the match result and hope you get lucky. For first-class and test-cricket, there are always three possible outcomes.

Over/Under on the Final Score

Place your bet on the total number of runs scored, which relates to one batting side or the total number of runs in the game. If you think that your team will score more than 150 runs and your sportsbook sets the line at 160, place you bet over the line.

Player Props

The most common player props include top bowler and top batsman. For bowlers, look for the one that came back with the best figures. For the top batsman, look for the one who scored the most runs in the innings.

Believe it or not, cricket betting is a multi-billion dollar industry that is constantly growing and evolving. With that in mind, I’d like to point out all the countries where cricket betting is legal. You can even make a living out of it in these countries.

United Kingdom

Cricket betting in the United Kingdom is legal, and it’s regulated by the Gambling Act of 2005.

New Zealand

The Department of Internal Affairs is regulating cricket betting in New Zealand according to the Gambling Act of 2003.

Australia

Cricket betting is legal in Australia and regulated by Cricket Australia. The gambling operators are required to provide tax revenues rather than the gamblers themselves.

Sri Lanka

Cricket betting was legalized in 2010 in Sri Lanka and, from that moment on, this betting market has been growing constantly. In fact, cricket betting is the second most popular gambling activity here, right next to horse racing.

Even though many people don’t see plenty of potential for making profits from cricket betting, I assure you that they are greatly mistaken. Cricket betting is an excellent way to make some extra cash on the side while having lots of fun.

This article is aimed at all those who are looking for an effective way to improve their chances and win by placing their bets on cricket matches.

Are you up for a real challenge or you prefer to play it safe? Do you bet just for fun or you’re really into scoring a big payout? Do you have any betting strategies of your own? Are you an experienced bettor? Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions with me.

I’d really like to hear from you, so feel free to leave a comment.