Betting Blog
India loom large as England brace for trial by spin
The bookmakers are giving England a snowball's chance in Gujarat of emulating their stunning achievement of four years ago, and pulling off another series win in India
ESPNcricinfo staff
01-Nov-2016
In the aftermath of England's humbling defeat in the second Test against Bangladesh, it is fair to say that the bookmakers are giving them a snowball's chance in Gujarat of emulating their stunning achievement of four years ago, and pulling off another series win in India.
To take only the most extreme ends of the market, Bet365 are currently offering odds of 250/1 for England to wrap up a 5-0 series win, which gets underway at Rajkot next week - for India to achieve the same feat, however, they are offering a meagre 10/3, which is roughly the same as you might be offered to predict Alastair Cook (three centuries at 80.28 last time out) to be England's top run-scorer.
That said, England tend to relish being underdogs, and so there's surely a case for flinging a fiver at the outright series win, which is currently priced at 11/1. India, by contrast, are almost unbackably strong favourites at 2/17.
Full postStokes the best value as England seek series win
In a reflection of the strides they made in last week's agonising defeat in Chittagong, Bangladesh's odds to secure a Test victory over England have been hacked back from 13/2 ahead of the first Test
ESPNcricinfo staff
27-Oct-2016
In a reflection of the strides they made in last week's agonising defeat in Chittagong, Bangladesh's odds to secure a Test victory over England have been hacked back from 13/2 ahead of the first Test to 9/2 ahead of tomorrow's second at Dhaka, by the bookmakers at Bet365.
That doesn't mean Bangladesh are anything close to being favourites, however. England remain a meagre 7/10 to extend their record against Bangladesh to ten wins out of ten, even though they came within 22 runs of suffering a huge embarrassment.
The man who did the most to rescue England's record remains one of the best bets going into the Dhaka Test. One of the features of the Chittagong match was the frailty of the top order, particularly against the spinners armed with the new ball. It was the middle order who bailed the team out - in particular Ben Stokes, who made 103 runs in the match including a vital 85 not out in the second innings.
Full postTest triumph remains a long shot for Bangladesh
Despite their vastly improved showing in limited-overs cricket, Bangladesh remain a long shot to take that form into next week's first Test against England at Chittagong
ESPNcricinfo staff
17-Oct-2016
Despite their vastly improved showing in limited-overs cricket in recent years, Bangladesh remain a long shot to take that form into next week's first Test against England at Chittagong.
Bangladesh have won just seven of their 93 Tests since their first match in November 2000, and their record against England, dating back to 2003, reads played eight, lost eight.
Odds of 13/2 in a two-horse race may look favourable, but it would be a major surprise if England (8/13) don't emerge with at least a share of the spoils in the coming two-Test series.
Full postButtler primed to hit back for England?
England versus Bangladesh may not be one of the more traditional rivalries in world cricket, but it's fair to say that, on the evidence of the first two ODIs of the current series, there's a new edge to the match-up that augurs well for a dramatic decider
ESPNcricinfo staff
11-Oct-2016
England versus Bangladesh may not be one of the more traditional rivalries in world cricket, but it's fair to say that, on the evidence of the first two ODIs of the current series, there's a new edge to the match-up that augurs well for a dramatic decider in Chittagong tomorrow.
England, who burgled a victory in the opening match in Dhaka before losing the second game by 34 runs on Sunday, are 4/9 with Bet365 to win the decider, with Bangladesh on 7/4 - odds that reflect Bangladesh's marked improvement in recent years. They have, after all, beaten England in back-to-back World Cups, in 2011 and 2015, and won six consecutive ODI series on home soil.
But given the events of the second ODI, who would bet against Jos Buttler turning in a captain's performance to snaffle the spoils back for his side? He was reprimanded by the match referee after his angry reaction to Bangladesh's celebrations of his dismissal at Dhaka, and he is 5/1 to be England's top scorer in Chittagong.
Full postSurrey gunning for revenge in Royal London final
Twelve months ago at Lord's, Surrey fell agonisingly short of glory in the Royal London Cup final, so you can expect them to be hyper-motivated when they get another crack at the cup on Saturday
ESPNcricinfo staff
12-Sep-2016
Twelve months ago at Lord's, Surrey fell agonisingly short of glory in the Royal London Cup final, when Gloucestershire pipped them to the title by six runs. So you can expect them to be hyper-motivated when they get another crack at the cup on Saturday, in the 2016 final against Warwickshire.
You'll struggle to separate the two sides in the overall victory stakes. Bet365 have the two contenders level-pegging at 10/11. However, there's some proper money to be made when it comes to the individual feats, not least the identity of the innings top-scorers.
After a stellar display in ODI cricket for England this summer, Jason Roy's return to county colours promises to be worth watching. He is 11/4 to be Surrey's top batsman, with Kumar Sangakkara, their overseas leviathan, similarly priced at 3/1. Further down the batting card, however, perhaps Sam Curran might be worth a flutter at 20/1? He's only 18 years old, but he's already a proper allround talent, and will have revenge aforethought after his gutsy 37 in last year's loss so nearly rescued his team in a low-scoring match.
Full postButtler on the rise as England target clean sweep
England's phenomenal progress in one-day cricket means there is little value left in betting on their success in the fourth ODI at Headingley on Thursday
ESPNcricinfo staff
31-Aug-2016
England's phenomenal progress in one-day cricket means that their odds with bet365.com have narrowed to 2/7 for success in the fourth ODI at Headingley on Thursday, and just 4/7 to complete a 5-0 series win.
The better value may reside in taking a punt on the identity of their top-scorer in Leeds. Alex Hales, fresh from his England-record 171 at Trent Bridge, is 3/1 to continue as England's leading run-maker, while his opening partner, Jason Roy, who himself made 162 at The Oval earlier this season, is 10/3.
A better option might be to look further down the batting order to the explosive talents of Jos Buttler. He scorched his way to 90 not out from 51 balls despite coming into bat at the start of the 37th over. He battered seven sixes in that time, the most by anyone in the match - so he is primed to make up for lost time, no matter when he appears at the crease.
Full postWorcestershire will test Essex's favourites tag
Essex's confident start to the season has brought a rush of belief that they can win the Specsavers Championship second division but Worcestershire look the value bet
ESPNcricinfo staff
30-Apr-2016
Essex's confident start to the season has brought a rush of belief that they can win the Specsavers Championship second division, so much so that their odds have narrowed from 5/1 to 11/8F with bet365.com in the first three weeks of the season.
Essex, taking advantage from Alastair Cook's presence at the top of the order, have a 21-point cushion after winning two of their first three games, but Cook is about to play his last match against another strongly-fancied side, Worcestershire, who look considerably better value at 6/1.
Worcestershire's impressive seam attack will test the mettle of an Essex batting line-up which is widely regarded as the strongest in the country.
Full postFirst to ten runs has instant appeal
Impatient punters who like a quick result without too much waiting around might like to check out bet365.com's daily collection of "first to 10 runs" bets during the IPL.
ESPNcricinfo staff
15-Apr-2016
Impatient punters who like a quick result without too much waiting around might like to check out bet365.com's daily collection of "first to 10 runs" bets during the IPL.
For Gujurat Lions' clash with Mumbai Indians' clash, both Aaron Finch and Brendon McCullum show at 21/20 to be the first opener to reach double figures - with a bet that neother will make that many offering odds of 8/1.
Anyone watching Finch and McCullum in domineering mood in their last outing for Gujurat against Rising Pune Supergiants might not fancy that option too much. More tempting perhaps to gamble on Finch taking first strike, as he did in that game, and smashing the necessary runs before McCullum has even had chance to take guard.
Full postWest Indies fancied for world crown as ICC pitch supervisor jets in
West Indies' defeat of India in the World Twenty20 semi-final before a shaken crowd in Mumbai has left them narrow favourites with bet365.com to overcome England in the final in Kolkata on Sunday.
ESPNcricinfo staff
31-Mar-2016
West Indies' defeat of India in the World Twenty20 semi-final before a shaken crowd in Mumbai has left them narrow favourites with bet365.com to overcome England in the final in Kolkata on Sunday.
West Indies, victors against India with two balls to spare, surmounted the early loss of Chris Gayle to chase down a target of 193 with Lendl Simmons silencing a Mumbai crowd on a ground where he plays his IPL cricket.
Their ability to win without a heavy contribution from Gayle was a reminder of West Indies' dangerous shot-making right down the order, leading bet365.com to make them 5/6F with England 21/20.
Full postIndia still favourites after shock opening defeat
The Indian nation is in shock after New Zealand trounched their side at the start of World Twenty20 but they remain favourites to lift the trophy with bet365.com
ESPNcricinfo staff
16-Mar-2016
India's shock capitulation in their opening match of World Twenty20 has not shaken the faith of bookmakers that they are still likeliest to lift the trophy.
Bet365.com has them at 3/1F to come out on top, believing that their collapse to 79 all out against New Zealand on a turning pitch in Nagpur was just a blip that they can put right as the tournament progresses.
New Zealand's new captain Kane Williamson was so struck the likelihood that a dry Nagpur pitch would turn - drawing evidence from the qualifying tournament - that he dropped his leading fast bowlers Tim Southee and Trent Boult and turned to a trio of slow bowlers in Nathan McCullum, Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi.
Full post