For a significant part of the world, cricket is more than just a sport. It serves almost as a national pastime, with many former British Empire nations across the globe having hundreds of thousands of fans and the best players. At the same time, the sport is also popular in other countries like Afghanistan, the Netherlands, and Nepal, so it has a global impact. So, for many of our readers, it might be essential or valuable to know about the ins and outs of the cricket world. In this blog, we will talk about the best cricket betting sites, the most important championship events, and the most usual odds picked by bettors.
Most Important Cricket Championships & Tournaments
The cricket calendar is filled with major tournaments. Even though there are quite a few leagues and interesting matches, these Championships & Tournaments attract the most betting interest.
ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup
This is the pinnacle of One Day International (ODI) cricket. It is the equivalent of the FIFA World Cup, taking place every four years and featuring top national teams competing in a round-robin format which is followed by knockouts.
India hosted the 2023 edition, and the home team seemed like the favourites and the squad to beat for most of the World Cup. However, what at first seemed like a shaky Australian squad managed to pull through to the final and win by 6 wickets. They won their record 6th ICC World Cup.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqKYpgZ9FWU
Indian Premier League (IPL)
The IPL is arguably the most glamorous and most decadent cricket league in the world, merging top international players with local talent in a fast-paced T20 format. To get the scope of just how big this league is, we can give you a rundown:
- The Spanish La Liga gets around €1.3 billion per year from TV rights
- The German Bundesliga’s TV rights deal is worth around €1.1 billion ($1.2bn) annually.
- The IPL has a four-year contract with Indian Viacom18 and Disney India subsidiary Star Sports for a total of 6.4 billion USD, or around 1.6 billion per year. So, it’s bigger than some of the biggest sports leagues in the world.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwPu9e_DRpc
The Indian Premier League not only draws massive attendance at stadiums but also racks up amazing viewership numbers and significant betting action. Local and international bettors go to their favourite cricket betting site to explore options ranging from match winners to individual player performances.
The Ashes
A storied Test series between England and Australia, The Ashes is renowned for its intense rivalry and dramatic game action. It’s one of the most competitive face-offs anywhere in Cricket since there have been 73 Ashes series, yet both teams have an almost equal record going in the next edition of 2025-26.
- Australia – 34 wins, retained 6 times from draws;
- England – 32 wins, retained once.
The series has such a name because when the Aussies came to English soil in 1882 and won at the Oval, the notoriously harsh British media printed an obituary in the then super popular The Sporting Times newspaper. It described that English cricket had died, and once the body was cremated, the ashes would be taken to Australia. Hence, the name.
ICC Men’s T20 World Cup
This tournament serves as an alternative to the ICC World Cup and happens more often every 2 years. The World Cup showcases the explosive T20 format at an international level. There are usually shorter games and numerous betting opportunities. The next edition is set to be hosted by West Indies and the United States with the final happening in the exotic island of Barbados.
Most Common Betting Markets in Cricket
Any betting site with cricket markets can offer both simple or very complex options, suiting to the choices and wants of bettors.
Let’s look at the most common markets:
- Match Winner. The most straightforward bet is where you pick which team will win the match.
- Top Batter and Bowler. These bets are focused on picking the player who will score the most runs or take the most wickets during a match or series. After match winners, these bets are the most popular ones.
- Man of the Match. This is also a popular bet, especially in high-profile games. Man of the Match is equivalent to Match MVP, so people can show support to their favourite athlete or expect big games from particular players.
- In-Play Betting. Also called live betting is open during the match. The process allows bettors to make decisions based on the current state of the game, with changing odds that reflect the unfolding action. You can definitely rely on your eye test or make a more informed decision because a lot more information becomes available.
Most Usual Odds on Cricket Betting Sites
If we’re talking about odds, it usually has to do with the format of the odds. You have three common formats that change depending on your location. Most of Continental Europe uses decimal odds, the US has their American odds, and the UK mostly relies to fractional odds.
- Decimal odds – 2.5 means that your total winnings will be 2.5x your bet, so betting 100 USD on 2.5 odds will result in a total win of 250 USD.
- Fractional odds – 3/2 means net winnings/stake, so if you bet 200 GBP you would get a total payout of 500 GBP. And 4/1 would mean that a 100 GBP stake could turn into 500 GBP win.
- American odds – they either have a minus (-) or a plus (+) sign next to the odds. The minus sign indicates a favourite and shows how much you must bet to pocket a 100 USD return. And the plus sign shows how much you get back if you place a 100 USD bet. So, for example, +120 means bet 100 USD to win 120 USD, whilst -150 means bet 150 USD to win 100 USD,
If you have accounts on different platforms that are oriented towards different markets, you might encounter odds that aren’t familiar to you. Use free odds converters to help you out or find the appropriate setting on your cricket betting site.