Cricket is famous for being a complex and strategic sport. On the contrary, cricket betting is much simpler and straightforward. After learning the basics on how to bet on cricket, bettors will be able to find valuable cricket betting opportunities on different match formats. Read on this cricket betting guide.
Instead of discovering how to bet on cricket, bettors may prefer more "action-packed" alternatives such as baseball betting or handball betting. However, the modernization of match formats and the amount of data available has led to an upturn in interest in cricket betting.
Cricket betting: how does the sport work?
Two teams of 11 players compete in a cricket match. A cricket pitch is circular and can vary in size but the center point, a strip about 20 meters long called a pitch, is where most of the action takes place. The two teams bat and bowl in turn: one bowler and ten defenders for the bowling team and two batsmen at a time (one at each end of the pitch) for the batting team.
Batting
The batting team's objective is to score as many runs as possible in the allotted overs (six pitches for one pitcher) or before the umpire signals an out to all batters. A batsman plays at both ends of the wicket, with the side at bat alternating at the end of each "over."
Runs are scored by running to each end of the wicket after hitting the ball or hitting the "boundary" (a rope surrounding the boundary of the track): if the ball hits the rope after touching the ground four runs are scored, if it does not touch the ground six runs are scored.
Throwing
The objective of the pitching team is to limit the number of runs scored by the batting team, as well as to eliminate all of its players through one of the following methods:
Method Description
Bowled The pitcher hits the wickets (three individual wickets) that the batter must protect.
Caught The batter hits the ball and a defender catches it without it touching the ground.
LBW* The ball hits a batsman's leg after being thrown by the pitcher (the trajectory of the ball must be in line with the wickets)
Run out The ball hits the wickets (from a direct pitch or with the ball in hand) before one of the batters completes a run attempt
Stumped The batsman leaves his crease in an attempt to hit the ball and the defender behind hits the wickets with the ball.
In cricket, techniques and styles of bowling can vary greatly; the most common types of bowling are explained below:
Type of pitch Description
Fast-paced Right or left arm, usually with a speed in excess of 135 km/h
Medium-paced Right or left arm, usually with a speed between 96 and 135 km/h (60 and 135 mph)
Off-spinner Finger-spinning right arm, turning the pitch toward a right-handed batter and away from a left-handed batter
Leg-spinner Wrist turn of the right arm, spinning the ball away from the right-handed batter and toward a left-handed batter.
Slow Orthodox Left-arm finger spinner
Slow Chinaman Spin with the wrist of the left arm
How to bet on cricket: knowing the different formats
The rules of cricket are the same for the different match formats. In cricket betting, what matters are the differences in terms of the application of these rules. Each format gives the batting team a different number of innings (number of chances at bat) and overs (the number of pitches they face).