How to bet on Cricket in 2026: Read our Complete Guide

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Placing a bet on cricket can be overwhelming, especially for new punters. However, this guide will help you get a grasp of it in no time. From understanding cricket betting odds and selecting the best markets to determine value from your cricket betting tips, we cover the lot.

Whether you have a passion for the red or white ball, this is the ultimate cricket guide for you.

Best Betting Sites for Cricket: Current Offers & Bonuses

There's no better way to begin your cricket betting pursuit than with a generous sign-up offer. Here's a selection of offers from our recommended bookies.

Cricket Betting Odds Explained

Following are some essentials to know before starting your cricket betting endeavours.

How to Understand Cricket Betting Odds?

The key here is to understand the probability expressed in the betting odds. The shorter the price, the more probable, in the bookmaker's opinion, that it will happen (or be correct).

How Do Cricket Betting Odds Work?

Let's say that a bookmaker prices England at 31/10 (4.10 in decimal) to beat India in the ICC Cricket World Cup. Therefore, if you placed £10 on England and they won, you'd win £31 plus your £10 stake is returned.

Main Cricket Betting Markets

To begin with, before placing a bet on cricket, a sound knowledge of the main betting markets is beneficial. Savvy punters know that the most money is made in predicting 'how' a team will win, rather than merely the match result.

Match Betting

This is the easiest, and therefore, the most common cricket bet. These can be 2-way bets in T20 matches, or 3-way bets, which includes the draw, in test matches.

Outright Winner

In this particular betting market, you are betting on the winner of the entire tournament/series. Generally, the earlier you place your outright winner bets, the more favourable the odds will be. However, this isn't always the case.

Tied Match

This is betting on a draw. Consequently, as draws are not as common as wins, the prices are often higher in this market. Although it depends on when you are placing your wager.

Top Batsman

You place a bet on the batsman that has the best form. Those in the know look into things like the style of the opposing bowler(s). Also, how their favourite batsman has performed on different kinds of wickets.

Handicap Betting

There are a few variants of cricket handicap bets. For instance, in test matches, you can get handicap markets on the 1st innings scores of the teams.

Best Cricket Betting Strategies

According to our opinion, we provide a list of the best cricket betting tips to help improve your winning chances. However, the first rule of betting is always to have a reasonable upper "lose" limit.

Research Conditions

Cricket, in particular, is one sport that is severely affected by the elements. Weather conditions can have a huge bearing on a game. For example, if it's damp and overcast, the red ball usually swings much more.

Look at Player Statistics

Going through player stats is essential in cricket betting. You can check out things such as:

• Strike rate
• Average runs scored
• Player's record of playing in various conditions and pitches.
• Player's performance against spin and seam bowlers.
• Player's recent form.

In-play Value

Live betting or in-play betting enables you to place bets as the match unfolds. You could consider, for example, betting on the number of runs scored in the next over. Do consider this type of in-play bet if the batsman has a track record of fast scoring.

Find the Best Odds

Regardless of how many cricket betting tips you employ, you still want the best odds for your bet. You can use an online odds comparison tool to see what different operators offer and bet accordingly.

Main Cricket Events to bet on

If you want to bet on cricket, you are spoilt for choice. However, you must stick to what you know. The top team in test cricket may be relatively poor in the T20 format, and likewise for the top T20 side.

The Ashes

One of the favourite events among British cricket punters. It's usually held every two years. The leading cricket bookies will always have a string of specials lined up for punters.

The World Cup

After England's very first win last year (2019), the World Cup gained a place in UK punters' hearts. Also referred to as ICC Cricket World Cup, the international championship is organised every four years.

Twenty20 World Cup

The T20 is held every two years, with the West Indies boasting the most titles. There are always a plethora of cricket betting markets for these games.

IPL

You can't possibly consider placing a bet on cricket without ever betting on the Indian Premier League (IPL). The IPL gathers the best of cricketers from the corners of the globe. Furthermore, it's the most bet on cricket event in the world- bar none.

Bet on Cricket Online

The three recognised formats of the game governed by the International Cricket Council are test cricket, one day cricket, and T20. Familiarising yourself with them while also understanding odds and betting markets will help you make educated betting decisions.

Betting on Test Cricket

This is the 5-day format of the game, and the one all purists cherish. As the match result is not decided within 1 day; the range of betting markets differ slightly to those available in limited over games. Some bookies still offer ball-by-ball betting although this has been shrouded in match-fixing controversies in the past.

Betting on One Day Cricket

One day cricket refers to limited-overs matches. Usually, 50 overs per side although some formats are only 40 overs. It's a faster style of cricket than test matches; therefore, different players thrive. Our recommended betting sites deliver excellent market depth for these matches.

Betting on T20 Cricket

T20 betting is probably the most exciting form of cricket betting. However, it also carries the most risk. This game is more of a slogfest with the batsman trying to clobber every delivery for six. You can make good profits when luck is on your side. Likewise, you can lose several bets when it's not with you.

How we Selected our Bookmaker for Cricket Betting

We have provided the table with the top cricket betting sites above after implementing a stringent selection process. Furthermore, we took into consideration various factors and criteria and assessed operators based on key functions. These include:

• Betting Offers – How generous and abundant are the offered bonuses and promotions.
• Odds – How competitive are the odds compared to the market average?
• Betting Markets – How diverse is the range of markets? Does the operator offer both outright and individual markets?
• In-play betting – Does the bookmaker offer live betting options? Is there plenty of depth to these markets?
• Live Streaming – Is live streaming available? How often is it available, and what restrictions are there (if any)?

Bet on the Cricket – FAQs

This section highlights some commonly asked questions about betting on cricket events.

How can I bet on Cricket?

You can bet online by registering with an online bookmaker. Then, select 'cricket' from the menu. After that, choose the tournament of your liking and see the available betting markets.

What is Fancy Bet in Cricket?

It is a spread where you bet on which team will win the match. You will also need to bet on the margin of victory as well, though, to have a winning bet.

Where can I bet for IPL?

You can look into all major UK online bookmakers' sites, including Ladbrokes, William Hill, Coral, bet365, Betfred, Betfair, and Paddy Power.

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