If you weren’t already aware, England are the bookmakers’ favourite for the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup. It seems that home advantage, coupled with several other factors – they are, after all, the number one ranked ODI team in the world – has led every major sportsbook to list England at the top of the odds.
However, as you might expect, all bookmakers do not agree on just how likely England’s triumph will be. In short, the odds can vary. The most common price for England seems to be 9/4, which is offered by Betfair, Bet365 and a host of others. Some bookies, like Coral and William Hill are down at 2/1. The best price overall seems to be Paddy Power, which goes 23/10 on Trevor Bayliss’ men. It might not seem like much, but we are talking about a 15% increase in the odds between England’s highest and lowest price.
India will have many backers
A similar story is found with the odds for the second favourites, India. A best price of 10/3 is offered by Betway Sports, whereas Betfair are the lowest for India at 11/4. In this case, we are talking about a differential of around 20%.
Indeed, as a general rule the fluctuations in odds will have bigger differences the further you head down the markets. For example, Sri Lanka are given odds of 16/1 to win the 2019 World Cup by William Hill, whereas Bet365, Sky Bet and a couple of others rate their chances at 40/1. Clearly, that’s a huge difference of opinion.
So, the pertinent question: Which bookie gives the best odds for the World Cup? The answer is, in fact, no particular bookie at all. Almost all major outlets will at least have the best, or joint-best, price for at least one Test Nation, so it becomes a question of who you wish to back and shopping around for the best price.
New betting sites can offer lucrative promos
Moreover, there are plenty of new UK bookmakers out there, vying to take some of the action from the established names. While they aim to be competitive with the odds, these new sites also try to get customers on board with various offers, like free bets. You can find a listing for top new bookmakers and their promo offers at https://newcasinouk.com/, which will also rate and review the betting sites.
While we can’t really talk about a de facto best bookmaker for cricket odds, we can look at some prices for teams that are better than others. As mentioned, the top prices for England and India are 23/10 and 10/3 respectively. Some bookies, including Ladbrokes and Coral, have gone as high as 6/1 on Australia. South Africa can be found at 8/1 with Bet365, and some newer bookies like Royal Panda.
New Zealand and Pakistan both have a highest price of 10/1, across a range of betting sites. While we earlier pointed out that William Hill had a very low price for Sri Lanka, the bookie is redeemed somewhat by having the highest for the West Indies – 25/1.
The point is that by shopping around, looking at established and new betting brands, you will find good odds for the World Cup. If you make the right selection, spending a few extra minutes looking around for the best price could make a big difference to your profits when the tournament comes to a close on 14th July.
