Cricket League Bets
Fortunately for cricket betting fans, they have a large selection of regular leagues on which to place their bets every season. These leagues allow betting enthusiasts to wager on whether their favorite teams will win the major competition and, with the right prediction, win a significant amount of money. Like the sport itself has different varieties, so each of the cricket leagues comes with its own specifics in terms of the number of participating teams, duration, pitch type, etc. It is important to take into consideration all these details in order to have a better chance to place as accurate bets as possible.
Major Cricket Leagues
To help you navigate through the many cricket leagues more easily, in this article we will look at some key competitions that are of interest to gambling enthusiasts as well as the relevant types of cricket bets you can benefit from. We selected three major tournaments, each of which is taking place on a different continent and is differing from the others in terms of a period of conduction and other specific details.
Big Bash League
For sports fans from European countries as well as from the US and Canada, the months of December, January, and February are mostly related to winter sports with very few exceptions. At that time, however, it is summer in Australia where one of the most popular cricket leagues is held – the Big Bash League (BBL). It is a professional franchise Twenty20 cricket league sponsored by KFC. Participants are eight city-based franchises that never change – Adelaide Strikers, Brisbane Heat, Hobart Hurricanes, Melbourne Renegades, Melbourne Stars, Perth Scorchers, Sydney Sixers, and Sydney Thunder. Of these, six squads have won the title, with Perth Scorchers being the most successful.
In terms of average attendance, the BBL is confirmed as one of the top domestic sports leagues so it is no wonder the event also enjoys significant interest from online punters. Apart from the conventional BBL Winner bet, an interesting option provided by some bookies is Team to Finish Bottom of BBL. Other betting markets available in online cricket betting platforms are BBL Top Batsman and BBL Top Bowler as betting devotees can also try to predict the best performing player of any of the teams.
Indian Premier League
Moving to the northwest, we reach India and its Premier League (IPL) which is another well-liked event attracting thousands of avid spectators and sports bettors. The IPL is a landmark T20 cricket event that set an impressive viewing record with over 31 million average impressions during 2020, a significant increase compared to the 2019 season.
Up until now, the Indian Premier League comprises eight teams that need to first play each other twice in a home-and-away round-robin format. After the end of the league stage, the leading four teams qualify for the playoffs. The best two squads from the league phase participate in the first Qualifying match, and whoever wins goes straight to the IPL final. The other finalist is determined after the second Qualifying match which is between the winner from the playoff meeting of the third and fourth teams from the league phase and the loser from the first Qualifying match.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India recently announced that the upcoming 2022 IPL season will welcome two more franchises in addition to Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Capitals, Kings Xl Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Sunrise Hyderabad. This means that for the first time since 2011, there will be 10 participating teams. As with other cricket leagues, the most popular bet type is Tournament Outright Winner but it is far not the only option and cricket punters can try to predict which player will score the most sixes, for example.
T20 Blast
We continue our cricket trip around the world and end up in Europe for the T20 Blast (Vitality Blast) intended for English and Welsh first-class counties. Its format differs from the one of the above-mentioned tournaments since the Vitality Blast gives a bailiwick to 18 teams which makes it one of the longest T20 tournaments.
They are divided into a North Group (Birmingham Bears, Derbyshire Falcons, Durham, Lancashire Lightning, Leicestershire Foxes, Northamptonshire Steelbacks, Notts Outlaws, Worcestershire Rapids, and Yorkshire Vikings) and a South Group (Essex Eagles, Gloucestershire, Hampshire Hawks, Kent Spitfires, Glamorgan, Middlesex, Somerset, Surrey, and Sussex Sharks). The first four teams in each group go to Quarter Finals and then, the respective winners qualify for the Finals Day which is held usually by the end of the summer.
Cricket betting fans are captivated not only by the abundance of matches but also by the attractive way the Finals Day is organized. The semi-finals and the final are played right after one another and on the same field. For cricket fans, this means enjoying their favorite sport all day long at a very high level, and for punters, the challenge is to make last-minute correct bets in such a dynamically unrolling event.
Tournament Outright Winner
Outright betting markets are the most common and widely practiced way of wagering regardless of what the particular sport is. In the case of cricket’s Tournament Outright Winner bet, punters need to have a view of the big picture for the whole tournament rather than focusing so much on the outcome of specific league matches. Betting odds are not fixed so the earlier you place your bet the bigger your eventual profit will be. Keep in mind, however, that the odds dynamics may turn out to be both beneficial and disadvantageous. Needless to say, if an underdog performs surprisingly well and finishes as a winner in the group stage, its odds of winning the league will dramatically change. Quite the same is true about a favorite that suffers a loss in its first match.
If you want to expand your cricket betting experience and place profitable online match, player, and proposition bets, we invite you to keep on reading and move forward to the next section of our cricket betting guide.