How to Bet on Cricket: The Complete Guide from Odds to In-Play Strategy in 2025

Best Bookmakers for Betting on Cricket

A crucial factor in learning how to bet on cricket and win is identifying the right bookmaker to use. Browse the online gambling market, and you’ll find a long list of sportsbooks, each claiming to be the best in the business. But which app should you trust?

Each of the firms listed in our cricket betting guide is highly recommended by our team and offers a welcome bonus to all new players.

Before You Bet: Understanding the Formats of Cricket

Before diving into cricket betting markets, it’s important to understand the formats of cricket you’ll encounter on betting apps.

Test Cricket

The traditional format of the game, Test cricket, is played over five days, though some matches conclude in three. Success in this format relies on tactics, endurance, experience, and fitness. Longer games often increase the chance of a draw, which is a key factor to consider when making bets.

One Day Internationals (ODI)

ODIs are a shorter format with each team playing 50 overs. Matches are completed in a single day, and winning requires a combination of aggression, tactical play, and stamina. ODIs are popular for both fans and online bettors due to their fast pace and clear outcomes.

Twenty20 (T20)

T20 cricket is a fast and explosive format, featuring aggressive batting and shorter matches. This format is highly engaging for live betting and is commonly available for both domestic and international competitions.

The Main Types of Cricket Bets Explained

With the formats understood, bettors can explore the main types of cricket wagers, which include match winner bets, top batsman/bowler selections, total runs, and in-play options for live betting excitement.

In this section of our article on cricket betting for beginners, I highlight the main types of cricket betting markets that are available at all major sportsbooks. Here’s a list and brief explanation of each.

Match winner

The simplest way to gamble on any form of cricket mentioned on this page. Predict which team will win, and if they deliver, you get the profits. If your team fails to win, the bookie keeps your stake.

Top team batsman

You can gamble on a player rather than a team, and predicting which name will score the most runs for their team in a match is highly entertaining. Pick a player and bet on them to score more runs than their teammates, targeting someone with decent odds but a great chance.

Top team bowler

Predict which member of a team will take the most wickets in the top team bowler market. Every player quoted has odds attached, allowing you to play it safe or shoot for the value.

Total runs (over/under)

How many runs will a match produce for both teams combined? The traders will set their line, and you bet on the runs being more (over) or fewer (under) than that prediction. It’s an easy way to bet on cricket and avoid picking sides.

Outright winner

Followers of long-term bets decided over days or weeks can bet on the outright winner. It may be the champion of the next Ashes or the top dog in the next Cricket World Cup in any format. It’s a real value-for-money market and wager.

How to Read Cricket Odds

To understand how to read cricket odds is to know how to find cricket betting value. Here are some of the most popular forms of cricket gambling odds you’ll encounter online today.

Decimal, Fractional & American Odds

Betting odds come in different forms, including decimal, fractional and American odds. The returns are the same regardless, with the format a matter of personal preference. Decimal odds might look like 3.0, and that’s the same as fractional odds of 2/1 or American odds of +200. You can often change the betting odds format on your gambling app in settings.

How Odds Change

Cricket betting odds, like gambling odds on all sports, are dynamic and reactive. Pre-match betting odds may change based on the result of the coin toss, team news, and pitch reports. In-play odds change with every wicket taken and run scored.

The Flashscore Advantage: Your Ultimate Cricket Research Hub

The more you research a cricket match, the more stats you gather. The more stats you have, the more likely you are to correctly predict the outcome and secure a profit. Here’s how you can use the Flashscore website and app to increase your strike rate when betting on cricket.

Live Ball-by-Ball Updates

Flashscore’s commentary service is essential when placing live or in-play cricket bets. You can track the momentum of both teams and players, identify the strongest partnerships, track the fall of wickets in real-time, and use the information to place perfectly-timed bets.

In-Depth Player Stats

Did you know Flashscore brings you the same in-depth player stats used by those working on the trading floors of the most important bookmakers? No longer are you at a disadvantage to the bookie, with Flashscore providing the essential stats, trends, scores, results and more. That will help improve your predictions.

Head-to-Head (H2H) Analysis

The top teams and cricket-playing nations meet often in the biggest tournaments or Test matches. In many cases, you’ll find certain players enjoy facing opponents or teams enjoy good results at home or when visiting their favourite cricket grounds. Having this information to hand in the head-to-head stats at Flashscore makes it easy to make data-driven picks.

Pitch & Weather Reports

As already mentioned, cricket is a game of fine margins, meaning the state of the pitch and the weather play important roles in the result. Flashscore users can access vital information on the pitch and the latest weather forecast.

A Smarter Strategy: Key Factors to Analyse

If you’re serious about making a long-term profit from betting on cricket using your laptop or mobile app, you must work harder than the traders. Here is my strategic betting advice to help you make more informed and accurate predictions.

The Coin Toss is Crucial

The result of the coin toss in cricket is much more important than in football. The winner of the coin toss decides if their team bats or bowls first, and that can have a major say in who wins, especially in the snappier formats. You can bet on heads or tails in the coin toss or use the result to finalise your predictions.

Analyse the Pitch Report

The type of cricket pitch in question is almost as important as the surface in tennis or athletics. A green pitch is ideally suited to a fast-bowling game, while a flat track will play to the advantage of the side with the bat.

Consider the Weather

Again, another area that’s much more important to cricket bettors than many other sports. A cloudy day is perfect for swing bowlers; rain showers can significantly shorten matches and often result in a draw in Test cricket. Check the weather and factor it into your bets.

Team Form & Player Matchups

It’s vitally important to study recent results and the schedule of both teams heading into a match. You’ll see if the teams and players are fresh, as well as which is on a winning run and which team is under pressure to end a losing streak.

How to Place a Cricket Bet: Step-by-Step

Follow these steps on your laptop or mobile at any bookmaker featured on this page.