2023 Cricket World Cup betting preview: Preview, tips and bonuses

talkSPORT

04 October 2023

The 2023 Cricket World Cup gets underway in India this week on Thursday 5th October, with the top 10 cricketing nations from around the world taking part over the next six and a half weeks to compete for international cricket's greatest prize.

India aim to become the fourth host nation in a row to lift the ICC Cricket World Cup trophy, after England won the most recent edition of the competition four years ago in a memorable final at Lord's, winning via boundary countback after a tied super over against New Zealand on home soil.

Australia are the Cricket World Cup's most successful side throughout history, having won the trophy on five occasions, three more than any other side, and will be aiming to add a sixth to that tally this time around.

2023 Cricket World Cup betting odds

Host nation India have the lowest odds to win what would be their third Cricket World Cup, closely followed by defending champions England and five-time winners Australia.

Best 2023 Cricket World Cup betting sites

How to bet on the 2023 Cricket World Cup

Go to your chosen betting website
Find the cricket page, either by selecting the named tab, or by going through the site's A-Z of sports
Select the 2023 ICC World Cup as the competition
Sift through the betting markets and find a bet (or several) that you like the look of

What betting markets are available for the 2023 Cricket World Cup?

Different bookmakers have different markets available to bet on, the vast majority will all have an outright winner available as well as the match odds on each of the 48 matches that will take place.

Most bookies will let punters bet on markets such as who will finish the tournament as the leading run scorer or the top wicket taker, and some will enable you to do the same for each individual team.

Who is most likely to win the 2023 ICC World Cup?

India head into the tournament as hosts and favourites to lift what would be their third Cricket World Cup triumph.

Captained by Rohit Sharma, and with global superstars such as Virat Kohli with the bat and Jasprit Bumrah with the ball, along with world number two batter Shubman Gill in the form of his life and Mohammed Siraj topping the world bowling rankings.

Rahul Dravid's side will benefit from playing in home conditions, and were the winners of the World Cup the last time the competition was hosted on the subcontinent back in 2011, from which two members of that squad remain, Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin.

What teams are likely to end up in the semifinals of the 2023 Cricket World Cup?

India, England and Australia are widely expected to be three of the four teams to reach the semi finals, with the final spot expected to be competed for between Pakistan, South Africa and New Zealand.

England head into this year's World Cup as the reigning world champions in both of the ICC's World Cups, partnering the ODI trophy they won in 2019 with the T20I edition last year.

The defending champions have seen their captain, Eoin Morgan, retire since the last tournament, with Jos Buttler taking over the role, and have even seen the retirement and un-retirement of Ben Stokes, the hero of the 2019 final in the last four years.

Australia are always a force to be reckoned with in major tournaments and are the competition's most successful team, with their most recent triumph in 2015 being their fifth title and was their fourth success in five editions.

Andrew McDonald's side still have the majority of the members of the core of their squad that won the tournament eight years ago and reached the semi finals of the last edition before losing to the eventual champions England.

Pakistan's batting duo of Mohammad Rizwan and world number one batter Babar Azam can always be relied on to perform on the big stage but injuries have struck a couple of their x-factor bowlers on the eve of the competition which may haunt last year's T20I World Cup runners up.

New Zealand have reached the final of the last two Cricket World Cups without being able to cross the line and lift the trophy, only losing out last time by boundary countback after a tied super over following an initial tied 50 over match.

The Black Caps also have the majority of their key players available from the 2019 squad, and captain and star batter Kane Williamson seems to have recovered from a lengthy injury lay off at the perfect time for them.

South Africa are notable for having never before won an ICC World Cup in either white ball format despite having reached the semi finals on five different occasions.

Some are expecting the Proteas to be this year's dark horses with a very well rounded and experienced squad beginning to hit form at just the right moment.

What can we expect from India’s home advantage at the 2023 Cricket World Cup?

India, ranked number one the world currently, will be most people's predicted champions for this year's tournament, not just because of their deep squad that doesn't seem to lack in any area, but also because they'll be roared on by fanatical fans at packed out stadiums in each game they play.

Sharma, Gill and Kohli is probably the strongest top order in the whole tournament, with the squad also possessing an abundance of bowling talent who will know each of the surfaces across the 10 stadiums like the back of their hands.

Kuldeep Yadav is one of the most form spinners in the world currently after spinning India to success in the Asia Cup recently, a tournament in which Siraj took a ridiculous 6-21 in the final, breaking numerous records en route to bowling Sri Lanka out for 50.

What are the chances for England to win the Cricket World Cup?

England head into the upcoming World Cup with a different head coach and captain combination from their victorious one that led the nation to their first ever World Cup triumph.

Matthew Mott and Jos Buttler are the new combination tasked of being the first team to retain the 50 over trophy since Australia in 2007.

The two passed the test in their first tournament together last season, winning the T20I World Cup last autumn in Australia.

England haven't actually played much 50 over cricket since the last competition, but head into this year's one having recently defeated New Zealand, whom they will play in Thursday's opener, 3-1 as well as a second string of players defeating Ireland 1-0 in a rain interrupted series last month.

The majority of the build up to the competition was focused on Jason Roy, who was such a key player at the top of the order in the 2019 tournament but has been out of form all summer domestically, and whether upcoming superstar Harry Brook would make the cut.

Roy missed out on all four of the recent ODIs against New Zealand with an injury which meant he didn't get a chance to fight for his place, and ultimately lost his place in the side as a result in a late change to the squad, with Brook taking his spot in the side.

Another key talking point came from Ben Stokes announcing his retirement from the ODI format last year, a decision he revoked in recent months ahead of the build up to this year's World Cup.

The man of the match from the 2019 final, and the 2021 T20I final, Stokes has returned to the squad like a duck to water, and even broke the England record for most runs in an innings in the series against the Black Caps as he smacked 182 runs at the Oval last month.

In a huge bonus to the squad, the 2019 super over hero Jofra Archer has managed to get himself into the squad as a travelling reserve, a circumstance which seemed most unlikely with the bowler having missed most of the last three years of cricket through injury.

Who won previous Cricket World Cups?

2019 - England beat New Zealand in the final
2015 - Australia beat New Zealand in the final
2011 - India beat Sri Lanka in the final
2007 - Australia beat Sri Lanka in the final
2003 - Australia beat India in the final
1999 - Australia beat Pakistan in the final
1996 - Sri Lanka beat Australia in the final
1992 - Pakistan beat England in the final
1987 - Australia beat England in the final
1983 - India beat West Indies in the final
1979 - West Indies beat England in the final
1975 - West Indies beat Australia in the final

Can I place live bets on the Cricket World Cup?

All bookies will be offering live odds throughout the Cricket World Cup, whether it be next batter out, team totals, number of maidens, next wicket taker, top scorer/most wickets in the innings and so much more.

Where can I watch the 2023 Cricket World Cup?

Sky Sports will be showing every match of the 2023 Cricket World Cup live, starting with England v New Zealand on Thursday 5th October, while Channel 5 will be broadcasting daily highlights on free to air TV.