- Fact-checked by Josh Miller
- Edited by Diana Westfield
How to bet on cricket depends on the format. A T20 is over in three hours and works like any two-way match. A Test match lasts five days and can end in a draw, which turns match odds into a three-way market and makes the weather part of your bet. Player markets like top batsman are where cricket betting gets most of its character, and where one rule, the dead heat, catches people out.
How to bet on cricket: match odds
In limited-overs cricket, match odds are two prices. In a Test there are three: home win, away win, draw. A Test priced 2.00 home, 3.60 away and 4.20 draw implies 50% + 27.8% + 23.8% = 101.6%; the extra 1.6% is the bookmaker’s margin. The draw price moves sharply with rain forecasts and with how quickly each side scores.
If rain cuts a limited-overs match short, the result is often settled by the DLS method; match bets usually stand on that result. The CasinoCalcs DLS calculator shows the revised target.
Top batsman and the dead heat rule
Top batsman asks which player scores the most runs for their team in the first innings. If two players tie on the top score, dead heat rules apply: your stake is split in half, one half paid at full odds and the other lost. £10 on a 5/1 top batsman who ties for top score puts £5 at 5/1, returning £30, and loses the other £5. So you get £30 back, a £20 profit instead of the £50 you’d have had outright. The dead heat calculator does it for any number of ties.
Runs lines and in-play cricket
Total runs markets offer a line, such as 165.5 runs in a T20 innings, with over and under at similar prices. Pitch reports and the toss matter a lot, and so does the venue: some grounds produce far higher scores than others. In-play cricket is famous for big swings. A team at 40 for 3 after six overs can go from 1.60 to 2.80 on two wickets. The hedge calculator works out the stake to lock in a profit when the price swings your way. For your batting average rather than betting, the cricket average calculator has it.
Five days is a long time to watch a bet. BeGambleAware.org has free support if betting stops being fun.