Sunday, October 15th

Sunday, October 15th

Jared Timms
England vs Afghanistan (7:30pm AEDT)
Joe Root England Top Runscorer ($4)

Betting suggests the most one-sided match of the weekend will come up between England and Afghanistan on Sunday night.

England were dealt a harsh immediate blow when destroyed by New Zealand in their World Cup opener last week, but they responded with a demolition job on Bangladesh.

Afghanistan have returned two fair efforts, but they remain winless, and it’s tough imagining them reversing their fortunes at the expense of England.

Bet now: England vs Afghanistan

Saturday, October 14th

Jared Timms
India vs Pakistan (7:30pm AEDT)
Babar Azam 50+ Runs ($2.25)

Sparks will fly when host nation India take on bitter rivals and neighbours, Pakistan.

There is always plenty of feeling in matches between these two countries and boy, would a win IN India mean a lot for both, particularly with vital World Cup points on the line.

Unsurprisingly, India are already two from two, having beaten Australia and Afghanistan, while Pakistan have already accounted for Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

India are too short for me as favourites, so I am instead digging into the player markets in search of value.

Bet now: India vs Pakistan

Friday, October 13th

Jared Timms
New Zealand vs Bangladesh (7:30pm AEDT)
Bangladesh to Win ($3.75)

The Black Caps are undefeated, and they’ll start clear favourites in betting against Bangladesh.

We were with New Zealand as outsiders when they comfortably toppled England first-up last week, and they franked that effort with a relatively easy win over the Netherlands on Monday.

Bangladesh proved too strong for a credible Afghanistan outfit, but they were given a wake-up call by England at their latest.

All of that considered, one result looks to be the most obvious play here, but I actually really rate Bangladesh in the subcontinent, and I think that they are capable of producing an atoning performance here, similar to the one that England found against them.

Bet now: New Zealand vs Bangladesh

Thursday, October 12th

Jared Timms
Australia vs South Africa (7:30pm AEDT)
Adam Zampa Over 2.5 Wickets ($3.25)

Australia are in action for the second time at the Cricket World Cup on Thursday night, and they’ll be eager to atone for a first-up loss at the expense of South Africa.

The Aussies were fair, though clearly lacking the final touch necessary to topple host nation India, and it looked to ultimately come down to a lack of spinning options.

South Africa meanwhile proved too good for Sri Lanka in their tournament opener, but there is no doubt that they would need to improve noticeably on that performance to beat Australia, and that is echoed in World Cup match betting.

Australia will look to get the most from Adam Zampa in this clash, and i’m backing him to take a bag of wickets.

Bet now: Australia vs South Africa

Wedneday, October 11th

James Caughlin
India v Afghanistan (7:30pm AEDT)
Rashid Kahn to Take 2+ Wickets @ $2.15

Afghanistan won’t have taken too much joy from their first game against Bangladesh and getting something from this game seems rather optimistic.

They have lost their last five against India, who are coming off a confidence boosting win over Australia.

It won’t be all doom and gloom however spinner Rashid Kahn boasting a decent record against them, taking 23 wickets from 13 ODIs.

I’ll back him to get two in this one even if it comes in a losing effort.

Bet now: India v Afghanistan

Tuesday, October 10th

James Caughlin
England v Bangladesh (4:00pm AEDT)
Joe Root to Score 50+ Runs @ $ 2.25

England did not have a lot of positives to take out of their first up defeat at the hands of New Zealand.

Even searching for some sort of moral victory was going to be a stretch but Joe Root had a bit of success with the bat, piling up 77 off 86.

Against a Bangladesh side that they beat by four wickets (and Duckworth Lewis) in the warm ups, England should be able to bat their way to victory.

Root had a solid but unspectacular performance in that one with 26* and I’ll back him to go on with it here.

Bet now: England v Bangladesh
Pakistan v Sri Lanka
Haris Rauf Over 2.5 Wickets @ $3.25

There is some recent form to go off between these sides, having met in the Asia Cup Final last month.

However digging a little bit further back into the archives shows the World Cup head to head has been all Pakistan, winning seven from seven.

Haris Rauf was the most productive Pakistani bowler first up against the Netherlands and I’ll back him to be productive once more.

Bet now: Pakistan v Sri Lanka

Monday, October 9th

James Caughlin
New Zealand v Netherlands (7:30pm AEDT)
Trent Boult to Take 3+ Wickets

Let’s not oversell this one as a potential all-time classic, New Zealand should win this one but it’ll just depend on if they bat first and decide to stretch this one out a bit.

It also means that the result market is a stay away with the Black Caps odds at an All Blacks like $1.04

Trent Boult only managed the one dismissal against England but I’m backing him to bounce back here and register at least three Dutch wickets.

Bet now: New Zealand v Netherlands

Sunday, October 8th

Jared Timms
India vs Australia (7:30pm AEDT)
Australia to Win ($2.20)

Tournament favourites and host nation India take on Australia, in what will almost certainly be the highlight of the first round of Cricket World Cup matches.

There is no doubt at all that the weight of a nation is on India, and they’ll be expected to perform from the outset (and go through the World Cup undefeated, as well). They obviously boast an excellent squad from head to toe, and they always do their best work on their home decks.

Australia has also taken an outstanding squad to this Cricket World Cup, and I will always be keen to back them when they open as outsiders in match betting.

Bet now: India vs Australia

Saturday, October 7th

Jared Timms
Bangladesh vs Afghanistan (4pm AEDT)
Suggested Bets

At a World Cup in the subcontinent, both Bangladesh and Afghanistan should be confident in competing more often than not, and this match looks like it’ll be great, and potentially vital to the respective campaigns of both.

The rise of both of these nations throughout the last decade and longer has been something to behold, but the latter particularly in shorter forms of the game has caught my attention.

The emergence of players like Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Rahmat Shah and Mohammed Nabi have put them on the map, and they are anything but easybeats.

I’m quite confident in Afghanistan’s chances here, and I am going to have a couple of bets reflecting that.

Suggested Bets:

  • Afghanistan to Win ($2.10)
  • Rashid Khan to take more wickets than Shakib Al Hassan ($2.25)
Bet now: Bangladesh vs Afghanistan
South Africa vs Sri Lanka (7:30pm AEDT)
Sri Lanka to Win ($2.63)

An intriguing match looms between South African and Sri Lanka on Saturday night.

There is absolutely no denying that South Africa have been one of the best cricketing nations consistently since the turn of the century, but there’s also no denying that they are currently in a bit of a hole (for their usual, lofty standards).

To be fair, the ODI Ranking (4th) is their best across all three formats, but they’ve certainly been caught and clearly surpassed by a few nations.

I’m not expecting Sri Lanka to win through to the Cricket World Cup Finals in 2023, but as a subcontinent nation, I have absolutely no doubt that they’ll relish the conditions, and I think they are up to an upset in their campaign opener.

Bet now: South Africa vs Sri Lanka

Friday, October 6th

Jared Timms
Pakistan vs Netherlands (7:30pm AEDT)
Babar Azam Over 43.5 Runs ($1.83)

The first truly one-sided match of the tournament looks like materialising between Pakistan and the Netherlands on Friday night.

Pakistan will begin the Cricket World Cup as one of only four nations up at a single-figure quote in outright World Cup betting ($7), and they simply need to be recording enormous wins in games like this one to justify that quote.

Understandably, the Netherlands figure as the rank outsiders in World Cup betting ($501), and it’s tough imagining them winning any game, let alone one against a Top 4 nation.

I’m expecting a big tournament for Babar Azam, and he can kick it off with a big score in this one.

Bet now: Pakistan vs Netherlands