If you think you know everything about betting on the Cricket World Cup, you might want to think again.
Sure, you may have placed some wagers on the sport’s biggest international tournament in the past. And maybe some of you are already genuine cricket betting experts who DO know everything there is to know.
Many of you will be looking to take your CWC gambling to the next level, though, and you should dive right into our Cricket World Cup betting guide.
We offer tips and advanced strategy for betting on the Cricket World Cup. You will learn about the best online betting sites for the Cricket World Cup, giving you a better understanding of exactly where to place your real money CWC bets and get the most value.
Best Cricket Betting Sites SA
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Betting on the 2027 Cricket World Cup
South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia will host the fourteenth edition of the Cricket World Cup, with the tournament scheduled to take place in October and November 2027.
Now, that might still feel like some time away. But if you are serious about betting on the Cricket World Cup, there is already plenty of time to study the competition and get your CWC predictions just right.
After beating India by six wickets in the 2023 final, Australia will be aiming to defend their crown in 2027.
However, six-time champions Australia will always be among the favorites with the top Cricket World Cup betting sites, along with other major contenders such as India, England, South Africa, New Zealand, Pakistan, and former winners Sri Lanka and West Indies if they qualify.
Qualifying for the 2027 Cricket World Cup
There are two broad qualification methods for the 2027 CWC – automatic qualification and the Cricket World Cup Global Qualifier.
The 2027 tournament will expand to 14 teams. Ten teams will qualify automatically, while four more countries will advance through the Global Qualifier.
The automatic qualification route is listed below.
- South Africa
- Zimbabwe
- Next eight highest-ranked ODI teams
The remaining four places will be decided through the ICC CWC Global Qualifier, which is fed by several qualification events.
It is worth noting that the qualification picture will continue to change as teams play official ODI matches and qualification tournaments on the road to 2027.
Some of the teams currently involved in the Cricket World Cup League 2 pathway are listed below.
- Canada
- Namibia
- Nepal
- Netherlands
- Oman
- Scotland
- UAE
- USA
Several other associate and emerging cricket nations remain in contention through the broader qualification pathway, including Challenge League and play-off routes.
This means that bettors should not only focus on the biggest cricket nations. Smaller teams can still influence outright markets, group-stage betting, and match odds if they make it through qualification.
Cricket World Cup Betting Strategy
It is now time to dive into some more advanced betting tips for the Cricket World Cup.
All of these strategies can help you to gain the upper hand when it comes to wagering on cricket’s greatest 50-over tournament.
Examine the Statistics
Statistics have become a huge part of modern-day sports – and cricket is no exception. In fact, in recent times, cricket has gained a reputation for its in-depth analytics.
It is important to remember that simply looking at past stats isn’t going to suddenly win you lots of money. But before placing your CWC bets, familiarizing yourself with team and player records could give you a significant edge.
Even if you’re completely new to betting on cricket, chances are that you would consider the head-to-head record between two teams before betting on the outcome of a game. That’s an obvious thing to do, right?
However, there is so much more to cricket statistics.
There are multiple different factors to consider when it comes to both bowling and batting. The following table delivers the bare minimum you should analyze when betting on the Cricket World Cup.
| Batting Stats | Bowling Stats |
|---|---|
| Fours | Wickets |
| Sixes | Maidens |
| Fifties | Dot Balls |
| Centuries | Average |
| Strike Rate | Economy |
| Average | Strike Rate |
Some of the entries above are named the same way, so make sure to check out if they apply to bowling or batting while working the numbers.
Ultimately, the more you know about individual player statistics, the higher chance you have of succeeding with your CWC bets.
Take Advantage of In-Play Markets
Some people like betting on the outright winner of the Cricket World Cup, while others prefer gambling on individual games from the competition. Both approaches could be successful, but there’s one that many ignore.
If you want to make the most of your Cricket World Cup betting opportunities, placing in-game wagers can be hugely profitable.
For example, there are ten different ways to get a batter out in cricket – five are very common, while the other five are pretty rare. The best CWC betting sites offer dismissal markets, where you can bet on the method of the next wicket.
- Caught
- LBW
- Bowled
- Run out
- Stumped
If a fast bowler is known for hitting batters’ pads, why not bet on the next dismissal being an LBW? Likewise, if you know that a spinner is adept at turning the ball, there is a high chance that the next wicket to fall will come via a stumping.
You can look at the batters, too. If there is a noticeably slow player at the crease, the chances of a run out will be higher.
There are also in-play markets relating to runs. If a batter has racked up 30 runs without any problems and looks in good form, why not back them to score a half-century?
Live Cricket World Cup betting odds often produce higher prices than pre-game markets. So, if you watch matches carefully and assess the individual performances of the players, you could make a nice profit.
Check the Weather
Much like the conditions of the pitch, weather often plays an important role in cricket. But while pitch conditions are easy to gauge depending on where the tournament is being held, the weather is far less predictable.
That’s why keeping an eye on the forecast can help you to make extra cash when betting on the Cricket World Cup.
Of course, a heavy downpour is likely to put an end to a game. But matches are often contested in light rain. Wet conditions usually favor the batting team, so that is something to bear in mind.
With the ball skidding onto the bat, the batters are able to generate more power on their shots. The ball also travels quicker on a wet outfield, meaning fielders find it more difficult to prevent boundaries.
Checking the weather forecast can be hugely beneficial when it comes to betting on CWC games, especially in-play.
Cricket World Cup Finals
Let’s take a closer look at the Cricket World Cup Finals, as well as the distribution of the honors and the prize pool.
Tournament Format
Under the current format for 2027, the Cricket World Cup will feature 14 qualified teams instead of the ten-team system used in 2019 and 2023.
The teams will be split into two groups of seven, with each side playing the other teams in its group once during the first stage of the competition.
The top three teams from each group then progress to the Super Six stage. After that, the best-performing teams move into the semi-finals, and those two winners meet in the final match.
This system gives teams more room than a straight knockout format, but every group-stage result still matters. One poor performance may not end a campaign, but repeated mistakes can make qualification for the Super Six stage very difficult.
From a CWC betting perspective, it’s good to know that the teams can afford a couple of mistakes in the early stages and still go on to challenge for the Cup.
Individual Awards
In addition to that all-important Cup itself, there are four major individual awards connected with the World Cup.
| Award | Winner / Meaning | Latest CWC Winner |
|---|---|---|
| Golden Ball | Top-wicket taker | Mohammed Shami |
| Golden Bat | Top scorer | Virat Kohli |
| Player of the Tournament | Best Player | Virat Kohli |
| Player of the Match in the CWC Final | Top performer in the final match | Travis Head |
They are designed to honor the best individual performers during the tournament and most of the top Cricket World Cup betting sites offer odds on the winners before and during the CWC.
Prize Money
In order to keep each team playing full out, the ICC gives awards not only to the winner of the Cup and to the runner-up, but also to the victor of each league stage match, and to teams that pass the league stage.
The most recent confirmed awarded purse was $10,000,000 USD at the 2023 Cricket World Cup, with the winner of the CWC awarded $4,000,000.
The official prize money for the 2027 Cricket World Cup has not been confirmed yet, so the latest published prize pool should be treated as a useful benchmark rather than a guaranteed figure for the next tournament.
Considering that this is more than the annual income of some smaller cricket teams, and many times more than the budget of less-successful nations, it is clear that the awards format inspires cricketers to play at their highest level.
Here’s how the most recent confirmed prize pool was split when it was all said and done.
| Achievement | Reward |
|---|---|
| CWC Champion | $4,000,000 |
| Runner-Up | $2,000,000 |
| Semi-finalist | $800,000 |
| Passing the first stage | $100,000 |
| Any victory in the first stage | $40,000 |
The biggest nations are mostly motivated by the glory that comes from winning the Cricket World Cup, but every victory counts for the smaller nations.
Cricket World Cup by the Numbers
Considering how many nations vie for the privilege of taking part in the World Cup, it is astonishing that the title has only been won by a handful of teams.
| Team | Titles | Second Place |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | 6 | 2 |
| West Indies | 2 | 1 |
| India | 2 | 2 |
| Pakistan | 1 | 1 |
| Sri Lanka | 1 | 2 |
| England | 1 | 3 |
| New Zealand | 0 | 2 |
The West Indies, or “Windies” as the team is called, won the first two titles, back when they were the dominant nation with the famed “Master Blaster” Vivian Richards on the team.
Since 1999, however, Australia has been the dominant force in the CWC. Interestingly, although England hosted the first three World Cups, they didn’t take their first title until 2019, 44 years after the tournament was initiated.
Teams with Consecutive Wins
Amid all the competition, successive wins are notably impressive and there haven’t been many of them, as you can see from the table below.
| Nation | Back-to-Back Titles | Back-to-Back 2nd Place |
|---|---|---|
| West Indies | 2 | 0 |
| Australia | 3 | 0 |
| New Zealand | 0 | 2 |
| England | 0 | 2 |
| Sri Lanka | 0 | 2 |
Only the West Indies in the early days of the competition and Australia have managed to win back-to-back titles and that’s something to consider when you’re looking for the best Cricket World Cup bets.
Countries Who Have Hosted the Most World Cups
Hosting the Cricket World Cup is not only about getting an advantage, it’s a great honor to be the home of the tournament.
Here are the countries that have hosted or are scheduled to host the CWC the most times. Some have hosted alone, others as a consortium of neighboring nations.
| Country | # of Times Hosting |
|---|---|
| England | 5 |
| India | 4 |
| South Africa | 2 |
| Zimbabwe | 2 |
| New Zealand | 2 |
| Pakistan | 2 |
| Australia | 2 |
| Sri Lanka | 2 |
| Wales | 2 |
| West Indies | 1 |
| Bangladesh | 1 |
| Namibia | 1 |
And to understand how big of an advantage playing on home soil delivers, let’s check the times that the host nation won the Cricket World Cup.
CWC Champions at Home
| Year | Country |
|---|---|
| 1996 | Sri Lanka |
| 2011 | India |
| 2015 | Australia |
| 2019 | England |
On the surface, four titles from thirteen completed editions is not that much. A closer look shows that three straight Cricket World Cups from 2011 to 2019 were won by one of the host nations.
However, the 2023 tournament broke that streak when Australia defeated host nation India in the final. That’s something you should be aware of when betting on the CWC. Home advantage matters, but it does not guarantee a title.