ICC Betting Tips

What is ICC?

The ICC, or the International Cricket Council, as its name gives away, is the body governing the sport of cricket globally. It means that all the bilateral series and World Cup events involving different countries from various parts of the world come under the jurisdiction of the ICC.

Minus the franchised cricket leagues and continental tourneys, pretty much all the top-level interesting events in cricket are organised or at least overseen by the ICC. Thus, from a betting perspective, it becomes very important to understand ICC, the events it sanctions, the formats it regulates and the different types of bet and markets we can play with.

The Indian Cricket Team

The Men in Blue of India is a full member of the ICC. India has given a special place in the list of celebs to its cricket team. Cricket players like Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar, and Mahendra Singh Dhoni are not just players but idols of Indian cricket fans. The current Indian team is being

The Indian cricket team, or as alternatively known as Men in Blue, are perhaps the most important side in world cricket today. Backed by more than 2.5 billion eye balls and governed by the most powerful cricket board in the world, they have a viewership that dwarfs all others, which is why they occupy a central position in the cricketing ecosystem.

But that’s from a financial and economic point of view. On the cricketing field, too, the Indian team is a match for anyone. Particularly after the launch of the Indian Premier League, a T20 tournament, the Indian national team’s confidence and game has soared to unprecedented heights. They were always a tough nut to crack on their own turf, but in the past decade they have become one of the better away teams as well. 

Their trophy cabinet has two 50-over World Cups, as many ICC Champions Trophies and one T20 World Cup. The inaugural Test Championship eluded them on the final hurdle this year when they were beaten by New Zealand in the final.

With a talent pool wide enough to make multiple competitive teams, India do extraordinarily well in ICC matches. As explained above, in ICC matches played in their own turf, they are as reliable as anyone, although their dominance at home often reflects in shorts odds. Away from home, they have wins over Australia and England just this year, although in New Zealand they still tend to struggle a bit.

ICC World Cup

The ICC holds three different kinds of world cups – one for every format it regulates. The first world cup the ICC introduced was for the 50-over format (also called One Day International or ODI) and it happened way back in 1975. The ODI world cups are held every four years, with the last one taking place in 2019 and the next scheduled for 2023. Australia are the most successful side in ODI world cups, with five triumphs to their name.

Meanwhile, a world cup for the T20 format was launched in 2007, and since then seven editions of the tournament have been played, with the West Indies being the most successful nation, thanks to their victories in 2012 and 2016.

The ICC also holds a Test Championship that began recently and was won by New Zealand, who beat India in the final.

Types of ICC Cricket Matches

To begin with, let’s take a look at the trio of formats that ICC events are played in:

Test Match

Test cricket is the oldest and longest format in the game and is played over five days. Only full members of the ICC, of which there are only 12, can play this format. For casuals, the Test format can seem a bit boring because of its length and colour (or lack thereof), but for the hardcore fans, it still remains the holy grail of cricket. To make money out of Test cricket, one should remember that the core skills take the front seat in this format, and chances of upsets are minimal.

Test matches are staged as part of bilateral series but recently the format has also seen a Test Championship.

One Day Match

To remain glued to TV screens for five days for a match that may not even produce a result was not everyone’s cup of tea. Thus, in 1971, a new format was introduced that limited each side’s overs to just 50. It livened up the sport as the play was now limited to just one day and results were also almost guaranteed. Four years later, the format was used for the first-ever cricket World Cup.

The ODI cricket is played by all Test playing nations as well as seven other teams that are at a level below full members of the ICC.

ODIs are also the longer of the two limited-overs format and they almost always produce results but ties are still possible.

Australia are the most successful ODI team ever, with five World Cups to their name so just be very careful betting against them in this format.

Twenty20

T20 is the newest format that was first introduced in England in early 2000s and has now become a staple in cricket calendar. Since, this format only allows twenty overs to each side, it is quicker to finish and with the provision of Super overs, the door on matches not producing any results has been closed even more.

The short nature of this format, however, means that it is more welcoming of upsets. Just a few overs of good hitting or a few slow overs or a few wickets here and there can change the course of the match. Therefore, when betting on T20 format, caution must be exercised.

Indian Premier League

The Indian premier league is a sub-branch of Twenty20 cricket. It has developed into the most lucrative and popular form of cricket over the years. Matches generally start in during the evening or the late afternoon time. This is so that a portion of the match is played under floodlights at night to maximize the number of audiences who watch the matches on television on worldwide broadcasts.

The initial form of league matches was played on the basis of home-and-away. But, eventually, the league was expanded into 10 clubs, which are divided into two groups of five. Later, even this format was changed so that matches could be played between teams while others would be limited to single encounters. The top four teams compete in three playoff matches. One of the losing teams is given a second chance to reach the finale, which is by far, the biggest betting wrinkle. 

In simpler terms, 4 teams that finish at the top of the table in a series of knockout games are given a ticket to play the playoffs. One of the teams that lost the first-round game would be given a second chance to win the final match. 

Which Sportsbook Should You Use for ICC Betting?

There are major cricket betting websites with interesting sportsbooks. The best ones, however, are Betway and 10Cric. These websites offer players a larger market to wager their money on. These include winners of basic tournaments or matches and top batsman/bowler bets to the more advanced levels like the man of the match. Feeling confused? Below there’s a broader explanation to help you understand what we mean. 

Types of ICC Cricket Bets

There are various types of ICC cricket bets that have been discussed below.

Match/ Tournament Winner 

A Match/Tournament Winner bet can be found easily on every cricket betting site. As the name suggests, to place this bet, you have to predict the winner of the match or series, although, for test series, you can also place your bet on the “draw” option. This bet also includes predicting the player that will score the highest number of runs and the bowler that achieves the best bowling figures in an inning or in the entire match. The bet is automatically claimed void, hence lost, if the player that you selected to place your bet on does not play in the said match or series, whether it is due to their absence in that game or because they did get a chance to ball or bat.

Toss Winner

In every cricket match, a coin is flipped to decide the team that gets to bat first. Toss Winner is the type of cricket bet where you will have to place a bet on one of the teams which you feel wIn every cricket match, a coin is flipped to decide which team gets to bat or bowl first as strategies and lineups often depend on this. There is a 50% chance of both winning and losing this bet. There aren’t any skills involved in this as luck is what dictates the outcome of this bet.

Man of the Match

Man of The Match is the player who gives the best performance in the match and, thus, is awarded so at the end of the game. So, players need to make a bet on who the Man Of The Match will be at the end of the match. This bet needs you to follow the match closely to make close bets.Man of The Match is the player who gives the best performance in the match and, thus, his performance is recognized at the end of the game. Odds on such bets are often quite high and enticing as your selection usually competes against 10 other players/options from his own team.

Highest Opening Partnership

This is another interesting bet where the gambler has to predict which team’s opening batsmen will collective score more runs before either of them gets out. This is where you will need to research the batsmen, their comfort with each other and their previous records.

Types of Odds in ICC Betting

There are multiple types of betting odds on offer. The three most common forms of betting odds are fractional, decimal and American.
Here’s a broader definition of what each of these means:

Fractional Betting Odds

This is the oldest and the most familiar notation that is used while betting on cricket. There are 2 columns, and each is separated using the “/” sign (slash). The left column symbolizes the amount or the profit you will gain on your bet in exchange for the amount you have deposited. The right column symbolizes the amount you have deposited to win the bet. This means if your odds say 3/1, you are getting 3 units for every single unit you wagered. So, if you wager 5 units, there are chances of you receiving in return 15 units. 

Decimal Betting Odds

Betting odds would appear in decimal form. So, if you are betting 5 bucks on a team to win, you will get 8.75 bucks for laying odds at 1.75 bucks. 

American Betting Odds

American odds are laid in either negative or positive numbers. Positive means the profit you will make, while negative means the deposits you would need to make. So, if for 100 bucks, you are gaining to 250 bucks, it will be shown as +250. And if for 250 bucks, you need to wager 100, it will be shown as -100.