The biggest international competition in cricket gets underway this week when the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup starts in India. The betting favorites are India, and they will have the expectancy of a whole cricket-mad nation on their collective shoulders when the action starts. In our latest cricket betting picks we look at their chances of victory and tell you what nations are the best value bets to win the competition.
- What; 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup
- Where; India
- When; Thursday October 5th – Sunday November 19th
- Total Matches; 48
- Participants; 10
This is the 13th edition of the World Cup. England are the defending champions after Eoin Morgan led them to their first-ever World Cup triumph with a dramatic super-over win against New Zealand in 2019. The same two nations will be opening this year’s competition on Thursday.
The moment the World Cup was won 🙌🏼#WeAreEngland | #CWC19 | #CWC19Final pic.twitter.com/Vt8onfi9hU
— ICC (@ICC) July 14, 2019
Ten nations will be competing to win the World Cup. The format is round-robin, with all ten playing each other once over the next six weeks. The top four nations in the group then qualify for the semi-finals, with a knockout format used for the remainder of the competition.
Recent history tells us that the hosts have a huge advantage in the World Cup. India hosted and won the event in 2011. Australia did the same in 2015, and England hosted and won in 2019.
But the difference this year is that India is expected to win. And with that expectation, comes unprecedented pressure. If India can handle the pressure, they have a chance of winning. But that is a big if.
Betting to win the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup
India are the favorites to win the 2023 World Cup at +225. Defending champions England (+300) are their closest betting rivals, with Australia next at +450.
Outside of the three leading candidates are Pakistan (+600), New Zealand (+800), and South Africa (+900). Full 2023 Cricket World Cup betting can be found below on our odds table.
| ICC 2023 ODI World Cup Winner Betting |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| India | +225 | +200 | +225 |
| England | +300 | +300 | +300 |
| Australia | +450 | +400 | +450 |
| Pakistan | +600 | +600 | +600 |
| New Zealand | +800 | +700 | +700 |
| South Africa | +900 | +800 | +750 |
| Sri Lanka | +2500 | +2000 | +2000 |
| Afghanistan | +4000 | +4000 | +4000 |
| Bangladesh | +5000 | +6000 | +6000 |
| Netherlands | +50000 | +50000 | +50000 |
Can India handle the pressure?
Two-time World Cup winners India are favorites to win the trophy for the first time since 2011. The team is led by Rohit Sharma, with the opening batsman assuming the role from Virat Kohli in December 2021.
R Ashwin replaces injured Axar Patel in the 15-member squad.
We wish Axar a speedy recovery 👍 👍#TeamIndia's final squad for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 is here 🙌#CWC23 pic.twitter.com/aejYhJJQrT
— BCCI (@BCCI) September 28, 2023
With home conditions, and the amount of talent India possesses, it’s not hard to see why the best cricket betting online sites have them as their favorites. But one weakness that could hamper their chances is their tail.
Runs from the lower order can be crucial in ODI matches, and India’s tail isn’t the strongest. Granted, they have some batting lineup to get through first. But once their top seven are out, there’s not much to fear for the opposition bowlers.
Can England go back-to-back?
This is a very different England team to the one that lifted the trophy at Lord’s in 2019. The 2019 team was captained by Eoin Morgan, but the inspirational skipper has now retired.
In the 2019 World Cup final and the 2022 T20 World Cup final, England’s match-winner was Ben Stokes. Stokes had previously retired from ODIs but reversed his decision to return to the side for this competition.
Our @CricketWorldCup 1⃣5⃣ 😍
Are we excited yet?! 😆#CWC23 | #EnglandCricket pic.twitter.com/u5FOly7rAk
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) September 17, 2023
With the return of Stokes, along with Jos Buttler leading the team, England will have a strong chance of repeating their 2019 victory. One major concern is the poor form of Joe Root. The team also had a slightly disjointed build-up with uncertainty around the makeup of the final squad.
Does Australia know their best team?
Australia has an embarrassment of riches in their talented squad. Their biggest problem could be working out what their best playing eleven is. Steve Smith and Cameron Green seem to be fighting for a place, and now Marnus Labuschagne has also been added to the squad in place of the injured Ashton Agar.
Labuschagne’s inclusion could further muddy the waters around the team’s batting lineup, and it was also a strange squad selection to replace Agar, a spin bowling all-rounder, with a top-order batsman.
If Australia can keep the trio of skipper Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc on the field, they will have a great chance of winning.
The best of the rest
New Zealand is always dangerous plucky competitors who will be in the mix, but this team has the feel of one that has seen better days about it.
The two dark horses could be Pakistan and South Africa. It’s often said that on their day, Pakistan can beat anybody. And the conditions on the sub-continent won’t be alien to them.
As for South Africa, they have explosive batters at the top of the innings, big-hitting all-rounders, and a pace bowling attack probably second only to the Australians. Don’t be surprised if the Proteas are in the mix at the end of the competition.
Our Cricket World Cup Winner Picks
For our picks, we are making two selections. India’s batting tail says to us that they are not good value at +225. Instead, we like the look of Australia at +450. We also think a small wager on South Africa is well worthwhile at odds of +900.
Make sure you check out our top-rated sportsbooks below. These are our recommended betting partners that you can read more about on our sportsbook reviews page:
Online Sports Betting © 2024