Cricket Betting 101 – How to Bet on Cricket For Maximum Success

Cricket betting has become an exciting way for fans to engage with the game, adding an extra layer of thrill to every match. Whether it’s the fast-paced action of T20s, the strategy-driven battles of Test cricket, or the dynamic nature of ODIs, betting on cricket offers numerous opportunities to predict outcomes and win rewards.

However, understanding the basics—such as different bet types, odds, and factors influencing a match—is crucial before diving in.

This guide will break down the essentials of cricket betting, helping both beginners and seasoned bettors make informed decisions while enjoying the sport responsibly. Cricket betting expert Paul Motty shares the basic, intermediate and expert tactics for maximum success!

Cricket Betting 101: Test Matches

A Test lasts a maximum of five days, with a maximum of 90 overs (six balls) per day. (Occasional four day tests have also been introduced recently). If bad weather intervenes, play is curtailed temporarily and playing time is lost from the game.

Both teams play two full innings, without a time limit. To win, one team must bowl the other out twice, and accumulate more runs. If that isn’t achieved by either side within the five days, the result is a draw.

Thus there are three outcomes – home win, away win and draw. If one side holds a big advantage in-play, they may choose to cut their innings short (via a declaration), in order to leave more time to win the game.

Cricket Betting 101: One Day Internationals

These are played in one day, with a maximum of 50 overs per side. The object is to simply score more runs from your allocated overs.

If bad weather intervenes, that allocation may be reduced by the umpires and the chase target recalculated.

20 overs must be bowled by each side to constitute a match, unless one side loses all ten wickets in less than 20 overs.

Cricket Betting 101: T20s

This has become the most common and popular format. Here, each side is allocated a maximum of 20 overs, with the same provisos regarding weather as one day internationals. 5 overs must be bowled by each side to constitute a match.

All the major cricketing nations host a franchise league. The longest, most prestigious and highest quality is the Indian Premier League (played during March, April and May). 

South Africa host the SA20, Australia the Big Bash, New Zealand the Super Smash. There is a Pakistan Super League, Caribbean Premier League, Bangladesh Premier League and Lanka Premier League.

The UAE host the International League (ILT20). In the USA, Major League Cricket is soon entering its third season, involving six franchises.

Note, there are other formats. The longer form of English county cricket, for example, is played over four days, while they host two short format events. The T20 Blast is played by the counties, while The Hundred is played by franchises over 100 balls.

The teams in these events are open to overseas players and the events mostly avoid clashing with one another, enabling dozens of players to move from one franchise event to the next.

Women’s cricket is also growing rapidly, in all of these formats and series. There are also T10 events and Legends events. Consequently, you can bet on cricket every single day of the year.

Cricket Betting Markets

1: Money Line. Naturally, the most popular market is who wins the match.

2: Also very popular are top runscorer or wicket-taker for each team, or for the match. For the latter, be sure to check the rules of each sportsbook in the event of a tie. Some will pay dead-heat rules, but others may determine the winner by fewer runs conceded (eg Fanduel).

3: Totals. Here, the opportunities are countless. One can bet on the total team runs in an innings, or for a set target such as the first over, next over, or next ten overs. Also, the number of boundaries (either fours or sixes), hit during the innings. 

Alternatively, the performance of individual players. How many runs a particular batsman will score, how many fours/sixes they will hit, or how many wickets a bowler will take during the innings. Some firms offer a ‘player performance’ market, which awards points for each run, wicket or catch a player earns.

4: Player of the match.

5: Method of dismissal. This is almost always an in-play market. There are various means by which a bowler can dismiss a batsman. In order of likelihood, they are caught, bowled, lbw (leg before wicket), run out, stumping, then finally ‘other’ which includes very rare occurrences such as hit wicket.

6: Special parlays. For example, England to win the match and hit 7+ sixes. Or England to win the match, Joe Root to score 50 runs and Jofra Archer to take two wickets. Because these are related outcomes, the sportsbook will offer a special price, rather than accumulative odds.

Get premium cricket picks from Paul Motty, one of the industry’s best using the button below!

Cricket In-Play Betting

Whilst there are dozens of pre-match cricket markets, the majority of betting action tends to take place in-running. These are the main markets offered in-play.

1: Money Line

2: Total team runs (over/under)

3: Next over/next 10 overs runs (over/under)

4: Batsman runs (over/under)

5: Method of next dismissal

Why Bet On Cricket?

Over a 40 year career betting on sports, I have long concluded this was the best one for betting purposes? Here’s why.

1: Knowledge is power. The rules of cricket, and the dynamics, are relatively complicated and reward the expert. Like most sports, most viewers are doing so for entertainment. They aren’t going to study the statistics at each ground, or of each player, or to be relentlessly following the wider conditions. Those who do will gain a big edge.

2: Conditions are critical. In cricket, the weather or pitch conditions have a transformative effect. Consider this example.

At a ground such as Headingley in England, sunny conditions on day one of a test match usually mean a par total is beyond 450. 600 is possible.

Yet if it is cloudy overhead, the ball tends to swing prodigiously through the air, favouring the bowlers. In this case, the par score falls to 200, and 50 is possible.

Compare that to a more simple sport, such as soccer. Weather conditions, the size of the pitch, the state of the turf, only make a marginal difference.

3: Those conditions change constantly. Understanding the effect and knowing how to exploit that information for betting gain is priceless. That applies pre-match but especially in-running. 

Conditions can change dramatically within minutes. Over the course of a five day test, they will change multiple times.

There will be periods during an innings where the bowlers have the upper hand, because of the overhead conditions, or because a dry pitch is offering pace bowlers ‘reverse swing’ or sharp turn for spin bowlers.

At others, pitch conditions will be benign, favour the batters and be conducive to high scoring. Each change could transform the match situation and betting, offering big rewards for those who can predict the change.

4: The above dynamics tend to make for betting volatility. In five day test matches, momentum tends to swing back and forth. So too in T20 to a considerable extent, but much less so in ODIs. The maxim ‘Back High, Lay Low’ sounds simplistic, but I can attest it absolutely pays off in cricket. Huge-priced upsets in play, or turnarounds, are frequent. This is rarely a sport in which betting at short odds-on makes sense.

5: There is a wealth of statistics to exploit. Cricket is a very stats-oriented sport, and anyone can access those stats easily and free of charge, via websites such as cricinfo.com.

There, one can find the career records of any player, team or ground. How does a particular bowler fare at a particular ground, or against a particular team? Which batsmen fare best against pace bowling, or spin? Which players have a good record facing another?

Furthermore, doing this research isn’t especially time-consuming. Most professional cricketers play all year round, either for their country or for multiple franchise teams. Watch cricket regularly, and you will soon get to know the players, their characteristics, strengths and weaknesses.

Cricket Betting Strategies

1: Back franchises with winning pedigree. The betting on T20 leagues tends to be very close, implying they are wide-open. This simply isn’t true. The formbook stands up. 

Take the Indian Premier League (IPL). When this ten team event starts, the favourite is usually around 5/1 and the outsider around 10/1. Yet in 15 seasons, Chennai Super Kings have won five titles and been runner-up 5 times.

In 17 seasons, Mumbai Indians have won five titles and reached 10 play-offs (top-4 finish). But Punjab Kings have never won in 17 seasons and only reached 2 play-offs. Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore have also never won the title in 17 attempts.

These are not coincidental numbers. There is an art to running a franchise, selecting well at the draft, balancing a side. Success breeds success. T20 is no lottery.

2: Back results at enhanced odds in-play during test matches. Usually, pitches deteriorate and get harder for batting as the game progresses.

As mentioned above, momentum tends to shift in-play, as conditions changes. If batting is easy early in the game, the draw odds will likely shorten.

Here’s a successful system that I pioneered on the Cricket Only Bettor podcast, which has paid dividends for several years. 

As the match starts, or after the toss has been made, take the starting price for the two positive results and double them. Wait until each team’s odds reach that calculation, then back them if and when hitting the target price. Back both to return the same. For example:

England +100 (target price is +200)

Australia +200 (target price is +400)

Draw +400

Set target to back England 5 units @ +200

Set target to back Australia 3 units @ +400

In the worst case scenario, you will hit both targets, the result is a draw, and lose 8 units. Another losing scenario involves hitting only one target, and in this case losing either 3 or 5 units.

If hitting both targets, either positive result yields 7 units profit. To reiterate, this has proven highly profitable since I invented the system.

3: Always keep a batting collapse onside. Whilst there are plenty of situations where backing ‘overs’ on runs is a smart play, I would argue ‘unders’ more often represents value. Why? Because bettors prefer psychologically to bet overs, and with each run scored, the market ticks up.

The nature of cricket, however, means that when wickets fall, they tend to fall in clusters. In a test match, if the batting side is 100 for 1 wicket (100-1), and the par line is 400, under 300 will be big odds – lets say +600. Under 250 will be +2000.

But conditions can change in the bowlers favour. One breakthrough transforms their mindset and conditions suddenly becomes very hard for the replacement batters.

In less than an hour, the score changes from 100-1, to 150-5. Now that 250 line is an even money chance. 

That scenario is not particularly extreme. It happens regularly. My strong advice is to always keep ‘extreme unders’ onside. Small risk for big reward. The classic cricket betting strategy.

Any questions? Want to discuss further? Feel free to reach out to @paulmotty via Twitter/X.

Love What You See? Sign Up for a Free WagerTalk Account!

Sign up to receive game-day updates, late breaking releases, free picks, best bets, exclusive betting features, pay per game and package access, contests, community networking, award-winning content and much more. Get your account today – it’s FREE!

Becoming a member of Wagertalk.com is 100% FREE with NO OBLIGATION or CREDIT CARD REQUIRED! Upon sign-up, you get instant access to our community and special offers and free picks. Sign up to WagerTalk now!

**************************************************

Looking for more free sports picks and sports betting tips?

• Latest Betting Odds and Public Action: Vegas lines updated in real time, including who the public is betting on.
• Last Minute Handicapping Advice: Check out our extensive library of handicapping tips and advice from professional Vegas handicappers (we also recommend taking the time to look over our sports betting tips video library)
• Want an expert opinion? Check out the latest Free Sports Picks and Best Bets from our team of expert sports handicappers.

Make sure to bookmark all the above!