T20 World Cup Betting Preview

Thanks to the COVID pandemic we have T20 World Cups in back-to-back years and the 2022 edition of the tournament in Australia promises to be bigger and better than what we saw last year in the UAE. With full stadiums and plenty of preparation the hosts will fancy their chances, but can someone cause an upset?

Who Are the Favourites to Win the T20 World Cup?

The Aussies are the defending champions and are the 5/2 favourites to lift the trophy again with our traders pricing their 100-50-25 spread (100 points for the winner, 50 points for the runner-up, 25 for losing the semi-finalists) at 43-47. Led by the big-hitting Aaron Finch, they have plenty of experience in their line up with Tim David the only new addition from last year’s successful side.

In the player markets, Josh Hazelwood and Mitchell Starc are 5/2 joint-favourites to be the top wicket taker for the Aussies and both are priced at 8.5-9.1 in the tournament Player Wickets spread. The firepower is likely to come from David Warner (195-215 tournament runs) who is 11/8 to top score for Australia having done so last year, with the diminutive batsman 10/1 to be the top runscorer across the tournament.

Who is in the England T20 Squad? And What Are England’s Odds to Win the T20 World Cup?

Australia’s main rivals in the betting are old foes England who are 3/1 in the outright betting and will have had a good look at their antipodean counterparts in the T20 Series immediately beforehand.

Jos Buttler (10/1 top tournament runscorer) and Dawid Malan are two experienced batters, but in the absence of the injured Jonny Bairstow and the out-of-form Jason Roy, players like Liam Livingstone and Harry Brook will have to step up if they are to better last year’s performance.

Buttler, who hit 101* against Sri Lanka in the last tournament has a tournament run spread of 188-203 with a spread on total sixes at 9.2-9.7.

Reece Topley leads the betting at 5/2 in the Top England Bowler market with Adil Rashid 11/4 and Durham paceman Mark Wood 3/1, with Wood’s total wickets spread at 7.8-8.4.

Aside from the aforementioned names, the remainder of England’s squad comprises: Ben Stokes, Sam Curran, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, David Willey, and Chris Woakes.

India Third Favourites in the T20 World Cup Odds

The Indians are always a formidable opponent in this format thanks to the success of the IPL and they are 18/5 to get their hands on a trophy that has eluded them since 2007. On the other side of the draw to England and Australia, they will expect to reach the semi-finals as a minimum.

On paper, their best batter is KL Rahul who is 11/1 to be the Top Tournament Runscorer, but don’t overlook Mumbai Indians’ Suryakumar Yadav who is 20/1 in the same market.

Jasprit Bumrah took the most wickets for India in last year’s World Cup, but he misses out this time around, with Yuzvendra Chahal priced at 5/2 to be India’s top wicket taker. Behind him, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, and Arshdeep Singh are all priced at 7/2.

T20 World Cup Betting Outsiders

Behind the big three, there are plenty of teams who will fancy their chances at going deep into the tournament. South Africa (7/1 outright) boast excellent bowlers in Kagiso Rabada (8.9-9.5 Tournament Wickets) and Anrich Nortje (8.3-8.9), but the form of captain Temba Bavuma will concern them. Wicket keeper Quinton de Kock is 15/8 to top score for the Proteas and is 25/1 to be the Top Tournament Runscorer having been one of the top players in this format for a number of years now.

Drawn in the same group as neighbours India and Bangladesh, Pakistan (9/1 outright) have one of the highest-scoring opening pairs across any nation. Babar Azam was top scorer in 2021 with Mohammad Rizwan in 22 runs behind in third. The pair are both 9/1 to score the most runs this year though Azam has a slightly higher spread on total runs; 198-218 compared to Rizwan’s 192-212.

Often overlooked in the betting, New Zealand reached the final last year and are 10/1 to go one better this year, with Sri Lanka at 20/1. The big-hitting West Indies (40/1) have a soft start to the tournament in the Group Stage and will be heavy favourites against Ireland, Scotland, and Zimbabwe. Their batsmen are expected to tee off, with a Team Sixes spread of 52-57.

T20 World Cup Betting Specials

There are some spread betting specials ahead of the tournament which are always worth a look. The 2021 tournament saw a total of 405 sixes, but this year our traders have the Tournament Sixes spread at 478-498.

The Highest Innings Score in 2021 was the 210/2 hit by India and this year the spread is 219-224 whilst on an individual level, no one surpassed Buttler’s 101* and you can play the Highest Individual Score spread at 113-117.

Our biggest spread on the World Cup comes in the Tournament Runs spread which is a whopping 12880-13130.

How Does the T20 World Cup Format Work?

As was the case last year, there will be a Group Stage featuring The UAE Namibia, Netherlands, and Sri Lanka, in Group A and the West Indies, Ireland, Scotland, and Zimbabwe in Group B. The top two from each group go into the Super 12, with the top two from those two Groups going on to play in the semi-finals.

Where Can I Watch the T20 World Cup?

English, Irish and Scottish fans will be able to watch all of their matches (and every other match) live on Sky Sports.