Cricket: heaven for the sports bettor who loves to bet live! Arguably there is no sport more suited to live or in play betting. Frequent stops in play, many statistically measurable parts and massive global appeal allow sportsbooks to offer multiple markets which are constantly changing as the play unfolds.
The sport of cricket isn’t too dissimilar to it’s close cousin baseball. After all both have evolved from the various bat and ball games played as far back as 1500BC and despite looking a little different to each other now many of the basic concepts remain the same. In the modern era both cricket and baseball feature blistering 100mile/hr pitching speeds, electrifying 300 feet bombs into the bleachers, and multi-millionaire athletes who are worshipped like Gods at home and abroad.
The major difference is that cricket is a sport celebrated by a population of more than 2 billion people from all corners of the globe. This means that whether it be by large scale privately owned franchises, or on the international stage between countries, top level cricket is being played somewhere all year round. The one sure bet is if its being played sportsbooks are accepting wagers on it.
Whether you are a recreational sports bettor or a full time professional you owe it to yourself to learn this game and when the opportunity presents itself, bet live!
Firstly, What is Cricket Betting?
Cricket is a captivating game set up perfectly for the wise bettor, and value can be found through a plethora of live options in domestic and international fixtures played across both hemispheres all year round. Again…Perfect for a bettor.
Check out this brief video from the International Cricket Council to get your head around the game.
Key Differences Between Cricket and Baseball:
- Teams are made up of 11 players and teams bat in one or two innings per match
- Batters keep on batting till they are OUT. At that point the next batter comes in.Once a batter is out, they cannot bat again in the innings. Once a team has 10 batters out that is the end of the innings.
- While batters score runs to the team total their individual score is kept. A way to measure their own performance. An individual batter scoring 100+ runs themselves in one innings takes quite a lot of skill and this is a prestigious achievement. 50 and 100 run milestones are a celebrated moment in a batter’s innings.
- A bowler bowls in 6 ball stints called an ‘over’. At the end of every over delivered a new bowler must be used for another 6 balls.This constant rotation keeps the on field captain on their toes. It is ultimately their call tactically on who should bowl at the right time for the match situation.
- Although teams have coaches, when it comes to on field in play, the buck stops with the captain who has an enormous influence on how the game flows. In many ways they call the shots much like a quarterback or point guard.
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Does Cricket Really Go 5 Days?
Cricket can go five days but usually not!
Cricket also has multiple formats, the rules are the same, just the restriction on the number of ‘overs’ available to the batting teams differ.
Cricket Has 3 Main Formats:
1) Test Match Match Cricket (5 Days)
Yes, 5 days in a row of 90 overs (540 ball) per day. In this format each team has a maximum of just 2 innings each. For cricket lovers this is the pinnacle. International teams have been playing this form of the game since 1877. The true traditional form of the game where the best players gain the most respect. It is steeped in history. Countries, players and fans hold these matches in the highest regard. These days Test cricket is played less due to the wide appeal of the shorter formats.
Note:This article will not focus on Test Cricket as it’s worthy of its own attention. When you develop a love for this wonderful sport then betting on test cricket becomes a passion. Here is how its done!
2) One Day International (ODI) Cricket.
One inning each consisting of 50 overs (300 balls) per team. The highest score after both teams have batted, wins. While this is a ‘shortened’ form of the game it can still take approximately 7 hours to complete. Players wear coloured clothing and the ball is white instead of traditional red. These games typically start in the early afternoon where the team batting first set a target for the opposition to chase. The run chase then occurs under lights and in prime time for television audiences.
Note: ODI will not be a focus of this article. More information about betting on this format will come to School Of Bets soon.
3) T20 Cricket (Twenty-Twenty aka T20)
A relatively new format of the game and can be the most exciting. It is a one innings bash fest where each team bats for 20 overs (just 120 balls) max each or until 10 batters get out. Hence the name Twenty-Twenty but more commonly called, “T20”.
As with the other formats, the highest team total score at the end wins, so teams throw caution to the wind and attempt to score at a hectic pace. This game is dominated by boundaries (4s and 6s). It takes just 3 hours to complete and is purpose built for TV and attracting young, non-traditional audiences.
This is where all beginning cricket bettors should start!
Why Sports Bettors Should Begin With T20 Cricket.
While an international version of T20 is played, the cricket world has been turned on its head by the creation of glamorous T20 leagues across the globe. Where player salaries, TV audiences and celebrity owners rival major US sports like the NBA and the NFL.
The biggest domestic tournament by far is the Indian Premier League (IPL), which makes sense. With 1.3 billion people in India, where cricket is a national obsession, the multimillion dollar event can afford to attract the world’s biggest stars with unrivalled pay packets. The IPL is a 7 week smorgasbord of high octane cricket and totally primed for sports bettors!
Other prominent Domestic T20 competitions include:
Domestic T20 Competitions |
DATES |
| Australia’s Big Bash league @BBL | DEC – FEB |
| New Zealand’s @SuperSmashNZ | DEC – FEB |
| Pakistan’s Super League @thePSLt20 | FEB – MAR |
| Indian Premier League @IPL | MAR – MAY |
| Canada’s Global T20 @GT20Canada | JULY – AUG |
| England’s T20 Blast @vitalityblast | JULY – SEPT |
| Caribbean’s Premier League @CPL | SEPT – OCT |
Huge TV viewer numbers means sports betting, but in particular live betting, has expanded too.
Let’s Navigate Through the 9 Tips to Make You an Instant Cricket Betting Expert
1. Watch Some Games First
Yes, it seems so simple, but watching a game or two before betting, allows you to learn the nuances of the game, see how team’s utilise tactics to swing momentum and how game situation pressure creates heroes and villains. It’s a simple game and your experience of interpreting other sports will easily transfer to this T20 cricket. Even a basic understanding of the game can help you understand why odds fluctuate. Soon you will be able to spot value and jump on it!
The Takeaway: Apps like ESPN cricinfo provide live score updates, but the information can be delayed by at least 45 seconds and by this time the game has moved forward. Live TV coverage will help you during this learning phase.
2. Wait for “The Toss” Before Placing a Bet.
Just like american football, cricket has a ‘toss’ before the beginning of the game. The winning captain gets to decide if his/her team will bat or field first. The toss occurs about 30 minutes before the match starts. Winning the toss is quite important as it theoretically allows the winner to play the game in their preferred method, in either setting or chasing a target. Quite a big advantage and sports books know this and adjust their odds accordingly once the toss occurs.
The toss can affect a number of markets, and the best example is in possible one sided match-ups. In T20 cricket if the weaker team bats first, then the match will most likely be low scoring as the 2nd team stops batting once the presumably low target score is reached. However, if the stronger team bats first, they may score rapidly, putting on a huge total, which the weaker team is unlikely to chase.
This will impact markets such as:
- “Will a hundred be scored”
- “Total sixes under/over”
- “Most sixes for the match”
- “Team batting first total runs”
The Takeaway: Wait for the Toss. 30 minutes is enough time to find value based on which team is batting first in T20 cricket. The more you follow cricket, the more you will learn to find value.
3. Live Betting on Moneyline Result.
The question all bettors and fans ask themselves is “what odds are both teams to win this match right now?”
In T20 cricket, game play is high risk, high reward. In particular for the batters, who have to take the initiative to try and score quickly. This comes with risk. The cut throat nature of batting means that one mistake and the batter’s night is over. It is for this reason that when a wicket falls sportsbooks rapidly change the moneyline odds in favor of the fielding team. And rightly so, as the fielding team are one out closer to getting the 10 required to close out the innings.
At face value this seems fair enough, but the equation is just not this simple. T20 teams bat deep and most feature late hitters that can clear the rope earning 6 runs from one shot right from ball one. It is very common for teams to bounce back from a wicket with a flurry of runs. Unlike longer forms of the game, there is just no time to be conservative.
The Takeaway: Be ready to strike when the iron is hot. Assess the team’s batting depth, if it seems strong, wait for a wicket to fall and look to jump on them at the longer odds.
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4. Method of Next Dismissal: Bowled
In the final 10 overs of both innings teams look to score quick runs as their innings is about to come to a forced end. Batters will start to take risks to use all 360 degrees of the field to find as many runs as they can for their team. When you see a batter start to move around on the crease and “invent” shots, look to find value in the “Bowled” option for “Method of next dismissal”. It is here the “You Miss- We Hit” philosophy comes into play, as bowlers will target the stumps more. The automatic algorithms of the sportsbook may not pick this up and will continue to have “caught” as the shortest price. Rightly so, as mistimed shots often find perfectly placed fielders, but value will be found in Bowled over time. Note also that Captains of the fielding team will keep back their strike bowlers for the closing stages for the innings and with 100mph thunderbolts, they have perfected the art of hitting those stumps.
The Take Away: Moving batters are a red rag to a bull for the bowlers. They hate it but T20 rules allow it. Bowlers will now target the stumps more as they see a weakness in the batters psyche. Value can be found in “method of next dismissal” market for “Bowled”.
5: Team Total at “Fall of Next Wicket”
This is an under/over market. As the match develops teams will often end up with an established batter and a less capable batter who is really in the team because of their strength in bowling. When the weaker batter is on strike look to bet live on the Unders “Total runs at fall of next wicket”.
Likewise most T20 cricket teams have a true craftsmen of the game that can “farm” or control the strike in the closing stages. If wickets have fallen around them and they are paired with bowlers who are forced to bat, they will take as much strike as possible by attempting to hit 2s or boundaries mid over and then look for a single late in the over When these type of players are in look to hit “overs” in the “Total runs at fall of next wicket”
The Take Away: Look to hit the Live Betting Unders Market as weaker player is on strike and more likely to get out. Likewise When a true “farmer of the strike” is in, look to back the overs. This type of betting require the bettor to act quickly to hit the value odds. Have your mobile sportsbook app open and be ready to go!
6. Understanding the “Powerplay”
The law makers of the T20 cricket are not stupid. To make the first 6 overs (36 balls) a little more interesting they have placed a 30 yard circle on the field. The Fielding captains can only have 2 fielders outside of this circle. This is called the “Powerplay”. There is now plenty of space over the top for batters to take high risk shots to hit boundaries (4s or 6s) . As a general rule, teams that score 60 runs in the first 6 overs are in a very strong position. Likewise teams that lose 3 batters in this time are in a very weak position. The wise bettor will acknowledge this moment and look to capitalize. If you know the batting depth and are confident in their remaining ability, then sure back the batting team to rebuild and set a reasonable total.
The Take Away: A score of 60 in powerplay is a solid position to be in. Likewise losing 3 batters in the first 6 overs is a strong position for the Fielding team.
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7. When the High Profile Batter Falls.
Imagine this scenario: The T20 Team batting first has a high profile opener, everyone has come to watch them hit 6s into the crowd. TV audiences are tuned in for prime time action, sponsors have invested big and obviously the bettor has invested to see the superstar do well. Then disaster strikes. They get out in the first over for single digit score. You can feel the air fizz out of the party balloons.
Their team’s odds have now blown out. It is here value becomes apparent on the team batting. I’ll tell you why now is the time to bet live:
1) There is still plenty of time left in the match for a recovery effort to made.
2) The new batters (number 3 and 4) are always ready for this type of situation and in fact will enjoy the chance to bat for a longer period of time. In many cricket teams these are in fact the best players in the team and plan for this situation, with out all the glitz and glamour of the high profile opener.
3) Fielding captains can become overly aggressive in the hunt for more wickets as they want to bury the opposition. Aggressive fields in cricket become great counter attacking opportunities for batting teams. Runs can flow.
4) Bowlers can only bowl 4 overs total for a match, so yes the strike bowlers have taken wickets early, but often they don’t come back to bowl till later when the next batters are established. Even if the captain chooses to use the strike bowler’s overs up early, opportunity to score will come at the back end of the innings.
5) The team batting first posts a total to defend. Even if the total seems a few runs short of ideal the scoreboard pressure that chasing a target produces always works in favor of the team batting first.
8. Domestic vs International Competitions
Much like the major US sports, domestic T20 cricket competitions use a franchise model and therefore they all employ a salary cap system. A cap system tends to even a competition out and therefore often pre-game odds often reflect quite an open contest. This means that the underdog can and will win quite often. For a bettor that means value is always on offer both pregame and in play!
On the flipside international contests often favor the traditional powerhouses as the only stipulation for selection is that players come from that country. Having said that in less important matches some international teams will rest players to keep them fresh for big tournaments. This can bring the underdog back into the frame.
The Take Away: Look to favourites in high profile international tournaments like World Cups and Champions Trophies. Players are primed for these and the depth of talent on nations like India, England and Australia make them hard to beat. The odds may be short but a return is very likely.
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9. RAIN DELAYS Favor the Chasing Team
Due to cricket being an outdoor summer sport, it is impacted by the dreaded Summer rain. In T20 cricket, matches can be shortened to as short as just 5 overs for the chasing team.
A respected algorithm developed by English statisticians Duckworth and Lewis (creatively referred to as the Duckworth-Lewis System) is used in the event of rain stopping play and effecting the remaining time left.
When this occurs overs are removed from the match and often the chasing team is set a revised total to be chased in a reduced set of overs. The Duckworth-Lewis system calculates that new total based on a host of different variables. Game on for the Live bettor!!
The fielding team is restricted in the overs bowlers can bowl but the batting team still has its full complement of batters just less time to actually bat.
Despite the algorithm being exceptional, history suggests the team batting second is favored as batters know exactly the scenario and change their tempo accordingly.
The Take Away: If there is rain in the forecast fade the team batting first. Reduced overs and a reduced target mean the required run rate per over will be increased but with wickets in hand it is easier to sustain that tempo over a short period of time.
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The Game Starts Now!
Cricket may be a sport foreign to US bettors but with a little effort it can become a true bonanza for bettors looking to expand their betting horizons. It’s momentum swings make it a live betting gold mine. Do yourself a favor and learnt to bet live on cricket!
