England is considered the ancestor of modern soccer, but several centuries before the spread of the “number 1 sport” in Foggy Albion, British gentlemen entertained themselves with a game of cricket. The history of the discipline begins in the XVI century, and 100 years later cricket turns into a national sport, which is still popular today – the discipline is recognized as the second most popular in the Foggy Albion (after soccer).
Popularity and Rich History
Initially, the game of cricket was entertained exclusively by the British, but the appetite of the empire grew, and soon the territory of Britain began to spread to several continents. The British brought their orders, including sports entertainment, to the territories under their control. Today, cricket is hugely popular in Australia, India, Pakistan, South Africa and other former British possessions.
In 1909, the International world cup cricket 2023 Council appeared, which already unites 106 national federations. The discipline is not part of the Olympic Games program. The only time when cricket was present in the program – the Summer Olympics in 1900.
In Search of the Perfect Regulation
Cricket tournaments vary in their format and the system within the discipline is quite confusing. Currently, the key formats are one-day matches, first-tier competitions and the T20 format.
First-tier or Test cricket includes tournaments for elite teams. Only 10 teams can participate in these tournaments. The duration of such matches is often 3-5 days, so the format is more suitable for “cricket geeks” – a lot of tactics and little spectacle.
One Day Internationals (ODIs) are competitions whose duration is limited by the number of overs – for example, there may be only 40 or 50 overs in a game, so the match is completed within one day.
T20 events are the most spectacular. They are limited in time, so the events are dynamic.
A Little Bit About the Rules
Unlike most other sports, cricket has a huge number of variations in rules, even tournaments are held in several formats, so it is sometimes difficult for beginners to understand the rules.
The cricket stadium is an oval field covered with grass, where two teams of 11 players are placed. The key roles are assigned to bowlers (pitchers) and batsmen (batters). The batsman bats the ball as far as possible with his bat to run across the pitch before the bowler reaches the ball. In some ways the game resembles baseball.
Basic cricket terminology includes:
- Pitch – a rectangular shaped ground that the batsman must run over after taking a strike.
- Wickets – wooden structures on the edges of the pitch – destruction of wickets knocks batsmen out of the game.
- Wounds (run) – a run, a successful crossing of the pitch that scores a point.
- Innings – a single delivery scoring a point in a match.
- Over – a series of six innings, after which the bowlers are replaced on the field.
In betting on cricket it is important not only to understand the rules, but also to understand the peculiarities of tournaments, the format of which can differ significantly.
Types of Cricket Betting
The formats of tournaments and the specifics of the rules can confuse the bettor, so it is necessary to understand what outcomes are offered for this sport.
Betting on the Outcome
Capper guesses the outcome of the match – which team will win the meeting. A draw in cricket is impossible (except for tournaments of the first level), so the bettor has two options – the victory of the first or second team. Experts recommend analyzing head-to-head meetings to decide on the choice. On the first level tournaments you can bet with double odds, insuring for a draw.
Betting on Total
Cricket matches are long, and bookmakers offer many different totals – for example, you can bet on the total number of runs in the match, or on the total of runs within a particular stretch of the game (at the end of 5 or 10 overs). The totals are offered in total or individual – the punter can estimate the performance of each team.