Posted on 28 Apr 2010 at 14:41 PM by
iancatley
Cricket is in crisis. Every facet of the game has negative press. Control of the game has shifted irrevocably to the Indian sub-continent and collectively those authorities are prostituting the game. Domestically cricket has lost its way with a muddled schedule and, perhaps through no fault of the ECB, we can look forward to a completely anonymous cricketing summer ahead of the real event Down Under in November.
Cricket desperately needs the Twenty20 Cup to catch the attention of a worldwide audience and receive plaudits from a media only too ready to dredge up stories of corruption, organisational chaos and disharmony among the cricket playing fraternity.
Perhaps the Twenty20 Cup is not at first glance much of a betting proposition but there are potentially opportunities in this format of the game. If you can set aside thoughts that some games may not be played strictly on merit, there must be some value to be had without too much consideration of the form guide. The last cricket World Cup threw up some extraordinary results, perhaps some more contrived than others and all the sound-bites were about ‘anyone can beat anyone’ in the shortened version of the game.
If you believe that, then this Twenty20 Cup is a must for a serious punt right at the outset. If the possibility of Afghanistan and Ireland claiming test-playing nation scalps is a bit too far fetched for you then surely it is ‘each of two’ for the contests not involving the ‘minnows’.
Consider New Zealand are odds against to beat Sri Lanka, similarly West Indies are evens to beat England on home soil (last week England were even money). However the stand out bet in these early games must be Bangladesh at 5/2 to beat Pakistan. NB that is Pakistan without several World class performers, who incurred the headmaster’s wrath on tour, yet led by the most notorious and publicly exposed cheat of his generation. Pakistan will understandably be lacking confidence. Have Bangladesh got enough? Simply put, they showed flashes against England at home and that suggests against weakened and modest opposition they are capable of winning again in this format.
This is not a new theory, match betting events like the Accenture Word Golf Championship has often provided punters with a good return when backing the outsider. So rule of thumb, this is ‘levels you devils’ cricket, don’t lay the odds, back the outsiders and enjoy. Even if the organisation is another shambles and the cricket is less than classy, you should get a return on your money in the knowledge that those so called ‘bookmakers’ will allegedly be encouraging the favourites.