Cricket betting
Cricket is the sport where format changes the betting most. A five-day Test, a fifty-over ODI and a twenty-over match are three different products, and a market that makes sense in one can be close to meaningless in another.
Competitions worth knowing
- SA20 — the domestic T20 competition, played in the South African summer.
- Proteas fixtures across all three formats, home and away.
- Indian Premier League — the deepest T20 market anywhere, and heavily traded locally.
- ICC events: the World Cup, T20 World Cup and World Test Championship.
- International tours and bilateral series.
How format changes the markets
In a Test, the draw is a live outcome and often the most likely one on a flat pitch, so three-way match odds are standard. In limited-overs cricket a result is near-certain, so the market is effectively two-way and prices move sharply with the run rate.
Totals behave differently too. A first-innings runs line in a T20 is a short, volatile market that can swing on two overs. The equivalent in a Test is a much slower proposition.
The core markets
- Match result — three-way in Tests, two-way in limited-overs.
- Top batter and top bowler, usually priced per team per innings.
- First-innings runs, over or under a set line.
- Method of dismissal and next wicket markets.
- Toss winner — a coin flip, priced as one; it tells you nothing about the result.
- Outright series or tournament winner.
Rain and the result
Weather is a real settlement factor in cricket in a way it is not in most sports. Abandoned and rain-shortened matches are settled under the operator’s rules, and revised targets can change which side of a bet you are on through no fault of the batting. Read the settlement terms for the market before staking on a fixture with a poor forecast.
Odds move with team news, form and where the money goes, so check the live market before you stake. 18+ only.