2023 ODI Cricket World Cup, Tips and Previews
India
$2.80
The hosts and number one-ranked Indians are the short-priced favourites on the eve of the World Cup, with early market support resulting in a $2.88 quote with BetDeluxe.
And why wouldn’t they be?
The 2011 winners have been in scintillating form, dismantling Sri Lanka by ten wickets in the recent Asia Cup Final before defeating Australia 2-1 in last week’s ODI series. They scored a monster 5/399 in Game 2 against the Aussies, with Shreyas Iyer (105) and Shubman Gill (104) leading the charge with the bat.
Led by skipper Rohit Sharma, the Indians boast wall-to-wall talent with the likes of Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Siraj.
Gill is currently ranked #2 in the world in the batting standings. At the same time, Mohammed Siraj claimed the #1 bowling position from Australia’s Josh Hazlewood following his match-winning spell of 6/21 (7) against the Sri Lankans.
The home conditions and support will undoubtedly play a significant role in every Indian game throughout the tournament. If they can topple Australia in their opening match, that support will only get more passionate.
Suggested Bet:
India to win at $2.80
England
$4.20
The reigning champions, who broke their World Cup hoodoo with a super over victory against New Zealand in 2019, will attempt to become the first team to go back-to-back since the Aussies in 2003 and 2007.
Ranked fifth in the world standings, the Matthew Mott-led Englishman have hit their straps recently and come into the tournament on a five-game winning streak. This includes a 3-1 series win over NZ last month, where the English won their last two games by 100 and 181 runs, respectively.
In a surprise twist of events, Test hero Ben Stokes will suit up for his nation after coming out of ODI retirement. Stokes, alongside Jos Buttler (c), Dawid Malan, Harry Brook and Joe Root, will form one of the most destructive batting line-ups at this year’s tournament.
Chris Woakes holds the best ranking in both the bowling (12th) and all-rounder (11th) categories after taking 16 wickets during the 2019 event.
If their Test match performances are anything to go by, prepare for a few fireworks from the reigning champs. Even if it means they lost one or two along the way.
Suggested Bet:
England to win at $4.20
Australia
$5.00
No team has won more ODI World Cups than the Aussies (5/12), so it’s easy to see why they’re in the third line of betting at $5.
Having won four of the last six World Cups, the Aussies enter this year’s event as the third-ranked ODI team behind India and Pakistan. However, if they are to make an impact, they will need to find their winning form sooner rather than later, with five losses from their past six games.
They failed to hit the 300-run mark in seven games against South Africa and India before Mitchell Marsh (96), Steve Smith (74), and Marnus Labuschagne (72) recaptured some form in the final game against the Indians last week. The bowling stocks look slightly more impressive, with Mitchell Starc blasting a hat-trick in the final warm-up match against the Netherlands.
David Warner continues to lead the way at ODI level and is ranked sixth on the ODI batters list, while Josh Hazlewood is the highest-ranked Australian bowler in second after losing the top spot to Siraj.
It’s rare that teams can turn their form around so drastically once the tournament starts but with the before-mentioned names plus Pat Cummins (c), Travis Head and Glenn Maxwell, who knows what the Aussies will produce on the biggest stage.
Suggested Bet:
Australia to win at $5.00
New Zealand
$10.00
If there’s one team that has every right to be hungrier than any other, it’s the 2019 (and 2015) runners-up.
Who can ever forget that super over? And that result?
Much like the Aussies, the New Zealanders’ form hasn’t screamed ‘World Cup winners’, with a 3-1 series loss to England in September. However, they’ve somewhat turned it all around with four consecutive victories coming into the event, including scores of 346 and 321 against Pakistan and South Africa in the past week.
Despite an ongoing knee injury he suffered in the IPL, New Zealand’s hopes will hinge mainly on their captain, Kane Williamson, who will sit out the opening match against England on October 5.
If Williamson can get fit and the Kiwis can pull off an upset over their 2019 nemesis, then those double-figure odds look mighty juicy.
