Cricket World Cup Betting Tips

Cricket World Cup Predictions

I'll maintain that I'm a better judge of the longer formats of the game rather than the shorter versions as was proved by my humble 1% ROI on my IPL betting this spring compared to the 276% ROI on Tests this winter. Still, a profit is a profit even though at those returns I'd have been better sticking the money in the bank!

Let's see if I can hit somewhere in the middle then with the 50 over format during the World Cup. Here are my tips on outrights and special lines

Outright Winner

The Australian's price has gotten shorter and shorter as the year has progressed. They were @7.0 earlier in the year, that dropped to @5.5 after wins in India and Pakistan and they are now at @5.0 following their victory against England in a warm-up game. I had a bet on them at that higher prices purely because they are Australia and you'd always expect them to turn up for a major tournament. To add to that, I'm also going to take a piece of India who have drifted out @4.2. The 2 times winners have not been historically strong starters so it's worth watching their price to see if it drifts a little more because again, you would expect them to be in the mix come the semi-finals.

Top 4 finish

I am going for England @1.14, India @1.20, Australia @1.5 and South Africa @2.05 to progress to the knockout stages

Individual Teams

Afghanistan have a few choices for top batsmen and much will depend on the conditions we get in England this June as to how successful they are. The medium to long term forecast is largely dry and as such I'm taking a punt on opener Mohammad Shahzad @4.5 to top score. Bowling wise, it's difficult to look beyond Rashid Khan @2.2. The legspinner can turn it on glass and will be a handful to all batsmen.

With the big 2 returning, Australia's line-up looks a lot more formidable and it's there that I am going to place my money by hedging my bets on Steve Smith @4.0 and David Warner @3.75. Bowling wise it's difficult to see anyone challenging Starc @3.5 and Cummins @3.75 so again I'm going to take positions on both.

Bangladesh are again a side whose top-order will look a million dollars if it remains dry and on that basis Tamim Iqbal @3.5 has long been the key man for the Tigers. The key with Bangladesh's bowlers is to look past the impressive figures their spinners deliver at home and on that basis, I will back The Fizz @4.0 to continue the good form he showed in New Zealand earlier this year.

Much has been written about England's batting power but it's the more conservative approach of Joe Root @4.0 that I believe will be key in the pressure situations of a World Cup. In terms of bowling, I believe Chris Woakes @5.0 has shown a tendency throughout his career to take wickets in clumps and could well be good value for money to lead the charts in that respect.

You'd imagine that the top scorer for India will come from the top 3 who have dominated in recent series. Lots of money is, of course, going on Virat Kohli but that has left a player like Rohit Sharma @5.5 looking like a very attractive proposition. Jasprit Bumrah @3.75 is the best fast bowler in the world at the moment and his work in the death overs and high pressure situations is particularly impressive.

New Zealand have a solid looking top order and while my previous picks have all been players in the top 3, I'm going to risk going for Ross Taylor @5.0 given that he is in a rich vein of form both in international cricket and English domestic cricket. With the ball I'll back Trent Boult @3.0 to be the Black Cap's main man.

Despite their recent woes, Pakistan's batting has remained strong. A lot of money is going on the in-form Babar Azam and that has left Fakhar Zaman @5.0 looking like great value. Bowling wise it becomes a lot more difficult to pick a player who is going to be effective. I will follow the recommendations of a few others on Scorum and go with Wahab Riaz @7.0 to have one last hurrah on the big stage.

There is plenty of experience within this South African team and on both counts that is where I will be placing my money. Hashim Amla @5.0 is likely to open the batting and look to play the anchor innings while others play around him. Bowling wise, the attacking leg-spin of Imran Tahir @4.33 has been crucial to the Proteas for several years and he is likely to be key again in their charge towards the play-off stages of this tournament.

Sri Lanka come into this tournament very short on form and confidence meaning it's difficult to select players to back. Kusal Mendis @4.5 remains a key player for them with the bat. Nuwan Pradeep @6.5 has shown on previous tours that he enjoys playing in English conditions and might be worth a bet at those odds.

Shai Hope @4.5 has been very consistent for the West Indies in recent series and will again be the man who anchors the innings while the big hitters do the damage at the other end. Sheldon Cottrell @6.0 showed enough in the recent series against England to suggest that he will take wickets at the top of the innings plus - expect to see him saluting plenty of batsmen back to the pavilion.

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Top Batsman

Virat Kohli has the shortest odds to be the tournaments leading run scorer but I'm going to be a little more conservative with my picks and take each-way bets (top 4 finish) on the following 4 players

Kane Williamson @4.25

David Warner @4.25

Steve Smith @5.25

Quinton DeKock @4.75

In other words, if 1 of them finishes in the top 4 then I'll have at the very least covered my liability.

Top Bowler

Another Indian leads the way in terms of bowling. Given the amount of money that is bet by Indians on cricket tournaments, I believe it tends to push the prices on their players down to an uncompetitive level despite them obviously being world class players. I'll be going each-way again on the following

Kagiso Rabada @5.25

Kuldeep Yadav @6.50

Imran Tahir @5.25

Pat Cummins @5.25