Betting Blog
England's resurgence puts them back at the top of the field
Normal service resumed? For England and for the bookmakers? It would appear so after a cathartic week
ESPNcricinfo staff
05-Jul-2019
Normal service resumed? For England and for the bookmakers? It would appear so after a cathartic week at the Cricket World Cup.
Faced with elimination after three untimely defeats in their first seven matches, England showed their full credentials with two impressive wins over India at Edgbaston and New Zealand at Chester-le-Street.
Though it helped that they batted first in both games, the manner in which Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy set the agenda for England has doubtless helped to settle the nerves among the odds-setters, who have decreed that England are back as the tournament favourites - now priced at 15/8 in a field that has shrunk to just five remaining teams.
Full postEngland slip behind India, Australia in World Cup stakes
Just as we're getting to the sharp end of the competition, all England's strength and certainty is starting to ebb away
ESPNcricinfo staff
26-Jun-2019
Well, it's been a fun ride for England's cricketers. They've dominated the World No.1 ranking and been earmarked as World Cup favourites for months on end in the lead-up to the tournament. But now, all of a sudden, just as we're getting to the sharp end of the competition, all that strength and certainty is starting to ebb away.
England's damaging 64-run defeat to Australia at Lord's is not the end of their World Cup dream by a long chalk - their destiny remains in their own hands with two games of the group stage to go, although they do have to face the two teams who remain unbeaten to date, India and New Zealand.
And it is India who have taken over England's mantle as World Cup favourites. Bet365 currently offer a price of 2/1, with England slipping out to third favourites at 3/1, behind even the Aussies, who were beaten 5-0 in a bilateral series this time last year, but whose momentum has been building with every game of the tournament.
Full postEngland, India remain favourites, but Bangladesh offer the value
Victory over West Indies makes Bangladesh the dark horses for a place in the semi-finals
ESPNcricinfo staff
18-Jun-2019
We are roughly halfway through the group stage of the 2019 World Cup, and the sense that it is becoming a bit of a them-and-us competition is exacerbated by the movement in the betting markets - or the lack of movement if the prices of the top handful of teams to be taken at face value.
Despite losing their second game against Pakistan, England remain the favourites to win the World Cup, according to Bet365, sitting pretty on 15/8, just ahead of India, who have been lurking in their wake for months now, on 2/1.
Coming up the rails, however, are the misfits of Australia - a side that hasn't yet looked in total command of its destiny, but has done a number on enough of the teams in its path to move up to third favourites on 3/1.
Full postEngland tighten favourites' grip after thrilling opening win
England are now an even more slender price to win that elusive maiden 50-over crown
ESPNcricinfo staff
31-May-2019
After months of build-up, the 2019 World Cup odds are finally a moveable feast. The in-play market will bob and weave over the coming six weeks as the ten teams compete for the 12th edition of the tournament, but to judge by the events of the opening match at The Oval, the hand of the favourites, England, isn't going to be loosened in a hurry.
Ben Stokes' stunning allround display, allied to Jofra Archer's quicksilver fast bowling, condemned South Africa to a 104-run defeat. And at 15/8 in the World Cup winners' stakes, England are now an even more slender price to win that elusive maiden 50-over crown.
India haven't yet opened their campaign - they take on South Africa next week - but they remain the likeliest upsetters of England's apple-cart, on 3/1. Australia, ever dangerous at 7/2 are nibbling their way back up the charts after beating England in a warm-up in the Ageas Bowl last week, while New Zealand - who trounced India in a warm-up at The Oval - complete the likeliest quarter-final line-up at 9/1.
Full postMumbai favourites for 2020 as dust settles on thrilling IPL
Mumbai Indians sealed a thrilling final over Chennai Super Kings on Sunday, with Lasith Malinga rolling back the years
ESPNcricinfo staff
13-May-2019
If you are already feeling withdrawal symptoms at the end of the 2019 Indian Premier League, then never fear, you can already get a long-range punt into the system for the 2020 event.
Mumbai Indians sealed a thrilling final over Chennai Super Kings on Sunday, with Lasith Malinga rolling back the years to deliver a peerless death over and a one-run win.
And sure enough, they are 4/1 favourites for next year's event, alongside Sunrisers Hyderabad, who have found a pair of bankers at the top of the order in David Warner and Jonny Bairstow, and now just need to shore up their middle order for the rare occasions when those two fail.
Full postSurrey still favourites despite Somerset's strong start
The bridesmaids of county cricket have been given reason to believe once again
ESPNcricinfo staff
17-Apr-2019
It's been two wins out of two for Somerset in this year's County Championship … and for the umpteenth time in as many seasons, the bridesmaids of county cricket have been given reason to believe. They've never yet won the title, but when their senior spinner Jack Leach is taking match-winning six-wicket hauls in away fixtures in April, optimism can be hard to suppress.
Nevertheless, rather like Liverpool's quest to end their own wait for a Premier League title, Somerset know they may need to go over and above the usual levels required for a Championship pennant, thanks to the quality of their most fundamental foe.
The reigning champions, Surrey, remain ensconced as favourites for back-to-back titles, at 5/2, having emerged unscathed from an exacting campaign opener, a home encounter with the 2017 champions Essex, who beat them in remarkable scenes in the final fixture last September.
Full postRCB out of the IPL running after dismal start to campaign
The three-times runner-ups have lost six matches out of six in this year's IPL
ESPNcricinfo staff
08-Apr-2019
This year's IPL is well underway, and while there's an awful lot of cricket still to be played before it's determined who will be the 2019 winners, the odd-setters at Bet365 seem fairly certain which sides are out of the running already.
Bangalore Royal Challengers, three-times runner-ups but never yet the victors, don't look like changing that record in a hurry after a dismal start to the campaign in which they've lost six matches out of six, often from apparent positions of strength.
They have slipped to a distant 40-1, an invitation to punters to throw their money at a lost cause ... although when a pumped-up Virat Kohli is in one's ranks, it's unwise to complete discount their chances of reaching the play-offs. His leadership has been under fire in recent weeks, but his stature as a gamechanger remains indisputable.
Full postIPL runners and riders under starter's orders
It's upon us once again, The 12th edition of the Indian Premier League gets underway on March 23
ESPNcricinfo staff
13-Mar-2019
It's upon us once again, The 12th edition of the Indian Premier League gets underway on March 23, and with the World Cup following hot on its heels in May, the form and fortunes of the participants will be under more scrutiny than ever before.
Chennai Super Kings romped to victory in last year's final - their third title in seven visits to the final, but their first since 2011 - but according to the odds-setters at Bet365 - it is the side whom they thrashed by eight wickets back then, Sunrisers Hyderabad, who lead the pack in the final run-in to the tournament.
Sunrisers are 4/1 to claim their second title, having lifted the trophy in 2016, and they will be boosted in their endeavours by the return of David Warner, who will have much to prove after a year out of the game due to his ban for ball-tampering.
Full postEngland still favoured for ODIs despite Barbados blip
We are set for a series showdown in the final two contests. But the bookmakers aren't perturbed
ESPNcricinfo staff
27-Feb-2019
England laid down a stunning marker in their opening ODI in the Caribbean, chasing down a hefty target of 361 with such dismissive ease, you wondered if anything would be able to derail them in their final preparations ahead of this summer's World Cup.
But then up popped Sheldon Cottrell and Shimron Hetmyer with ball and bat respectively, as England slumped from a seemingly nailed-on 2-0 series lead to 1-1 with three to play, which rapidly became two after a wash-out in Grenada.
That set us up for a series showdown in the final two contests. But the bookmakers aren't perturbed, with England still hefty favourites to seal the series and cement their status as World Cup favourites.
Full postAre West Indies on course to seal 3-0 'blackwash'?
The loss of Jason Holder has done little to prick the expectation
ESPNcricinfo staff
06-Feb-2019
The loss of Jason Holder for the St Lucia Test, in the wake of his suspension for a slow over-rate in Antigua, has done little to prick the expectation that West Indies are on course to emulate their 1980s forebears, and wrap up a 3-0 "blackwash" over England.
The odds-setters at Bet365 still reckon that West Indies are favourites for the third Test, in spite of the loss of their captain and stand-out player - a man who rose to become the No.1-ranked allrounder in Test cricket after his double-century in Barbados and has also taken seven wickets at 17.85 in the series so far.
West Indies are 6/4 to seal the win in St Lucia, compared to England's 5/6. The draw, an outlandish prospect to judge by the stickability of England's batsmen in the series to date, is a distant 8/1.
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