Thursday morning sees the start of the 2023 Cricket World Cup with a rematch of the dramatic 2019 final between England and New Zealand. Defending champions England are once again among the favourites with Ben Stokes coming out of retirement, but hosts India have the shortest pre-tournament odds to go all the way.
Bookmakers provide a raft of futures for betting on the ICC Cricket World Cup – we’ve delved into the player prop markets below.
Scorer of 127, 96 and 54 in England’s last three full ODIs before the World Cup, Dawid Malan did more than enough to dislodge Jason Roy at the top of England’s order. Despite topping the batting rankings in T20 Internationals in the past, the 50-over format has often seemed the best for the tempo Malan bats at.
He has the shots to take advantage of the powerplay in India, and the technique to bat time if conditions are tricky. England are fancied to reach the semi finals at least, giving him an extra match or two to add to his run tally.
Top ten players with best batting average in ODIs since 2019 WC (min 1000 runs) :
• 1) Shubman Gill 🇮🇳 : 70.40
• 2) Babar Azam 🇵🇰 : 66.54
• 3) Dawid Malan 🏴 : 63.87
• 4) David Miller 🇿🇦 : 60.70
• 5) Sean Williams 🇿🇼 : 57.68
•… pic.twitter.com/Zba4Dt8eNs— Lubana Warriors (@LovepreetS49) September 28, 2023
With the third-highest ODI average since the last World Cup of players to register 20 or more innings, Malan is a superb value in this market.
Of bowlers competing in this World Cup, only Alzarri Joseph has taken more wickets than Adam Zampa since the tournament in England back in 2019. Trent Boult, David Willey and Mohammad Siraj are the only bowlers involved in this tournament to have bowled 100+ innings at a better average than Zampa over that span.
Coming out of the rainy season, some expect these pitches to be less spin-friendly than typical Indian conditions, but spinners will inevitably have a massive role to play. Rotation is a major risk when backing fast bowlers in this market, too.
Zampa is a lock to play every match for Australia. With a well-balanced team, the Aussies have a great chance of going all the way, which would give Zampa up to 20 additional overs to add to his wicket tally compared to players eliminated in the group stage.
Since the Player of the Tournament was first awarded in 1992, the honour has been given to a player on the winning team four out of eight times. Two of the last three have been given to players on the eventual champions, but Kane Williamson received the trophy in 2019 after New Zealand’s loss to England.
🇵🇰🏏 pic.twitter.com/BRiLzWNenp
— Shaheen Shah Afridi (@iShaheenAfridi) September 28, 2023
Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma are the three betting favourites, which makes sense given the likelihood India reach the last four. Each of the three have a good chance at winning the award if India make the final.
On most cricket betting sites, their odds are on the short side, though. Of Indian players, Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav (16/1 and 18/1 with Paddy Power respectively) represent superior value – both are bound to have a massive impact on this tournament.
It is Shaheen Shah Afridi who looks the best bet, however. Pakistan are notoriously unpredictable in tournament cricket, and their chances were dealt a blow with Naseem Shah’s injury. Yet, they have the spin options and top-order batting to be a force here. Haris Rauf also looks like he will be available for the majority of the group stage.
If they are to make the last four the brilliant Shaheen will need to have a big tournament – he’s a true match-winner.
Unlike in T20 cricket, when Heinrich Klaasen is often in the role of finisher with only a few balls to do damage, South Africa’s explosive middle-order hitter will have time to bat in this World Cup.
Expected to come in at five, Klaasen has been in scintillating form across franchise tournaments, and recently crushed 174 against Australia.
Players with most sixes in ODIs this year (Full member nations) ⬇️
36 – Rohit Sharma
29 – Shubman Gill
25 – Heinrich Klaasen
22 – Mitchell Marsh
21 – Harry Tector#RohitSharma #ICCWorldCup2023 #CWC23 #ShubmanGill #ICCWorldCup pic.twitter.com/rUFpcUCCvX— CricWhack (@cricwhack) October 1, 2023
Only Rashid Khan has a better strike rate than Klaasen since the last World Cup, but that just tells part of the story.
