Cricket Betting Terms & Definitions (A-Z)

If you decide to get involved with the world of betting, one thing you will not really account for is the sheer amount of betting jargon and terms out there. With many sports, you can blag your way through making bets and trick your friends into thinking you really know what you are talking about.

However, when it comes to cricket betting, this is a lot more difficult. Partly down to the huge scope of gambling and the already confusing nature of cricketing terms, it can be tough to have a base understanding, let alone become an expert.

Below, we explain the most frequently used and important terms that you will likely come across, helping to ensure you are never caught short of your crease.

MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION

A

Absent-hurt – A batsman is forced from the field after getting hurt while out in the middle. The batsman can return later on in the innings if they have gotten over their injury.

Acca (Accumulator) – An accumulator, also known as an ‘acca' for short, is when you create a single bet with multiple selections. All of your selections must win in order for your bet to come in.

Acca Insurance – This is a promotion that is available as protection for your accumulator. Bookies will give you the ability to have your stake returned if a single leg or selection in your acca loses.

All Out – Refers to when a team has lost all of their wickets, meaning that there is either a changeover of the team that is batting, or the game is over.

All-Rounder – A player that can both bat and bowl. Legendary examples of all-rounders include England’s Andrew Flintoff and Ian Botham, West Indies' Gary Sobers and, perhaps the greatest of them all, South Africa’s Jacques Kallis.

American Odds – American Odds are mostly offered by American bookies. Odds for favourites are preceded by a minus (-) sign, telling you how much you need to state to win $100.

Arbitrage – A type of betting strategy that sees you backing all available outcomes of an event with different bookmakers, guaranteeing a profit.

Arm Ball – A delivery that a finger spinner bowls. This ball does not spin much, if at all, and is the stock delivery of most finger spinners.

Average – This can refer to either a batsman or a bowler. For a batsman, the higher their average the better, with it telling you the amount of runs they score in an innings on average. For a bowler, it is the lower the better, with an average telling you how many runs they concede before taking a wicket.

Away swing – A type of ball bowled by a swing bowler. An away swinging delivery will pitch and swing away from the batsman’s bat.

A Win Bet – Your bet will only come in if your selection wins the event outright.

B

Back – This is simply when you bet or wager on a particular outcome. For example, if you back India to win, your bet will be victorious if they triumph.

Ball-tampering – When a player purposefully tries to use something like a foreign object to change the shape of the ball. Bowlers can use sweat to shine the ball, while, before the pandemic that began in 2020, they could use saliva. While this is legal, using sandpaper or purposefully treading on the ball, for example, is seen as ball tampering.

Banker – A type of bet that is believed to be a near-certainty to win. Of course, in betting and sports there is no thing as a certain bet, but if the odds are odds-on, it means the bet is seen as a banker.

Batting Order – The order in which players from a certain team come into bat.

Batting Strike Rate – The rate at which a batsman is scoring runs in an innings or across their career. For example, 100 runs scored in 50 balls would have a strike rate of 200.00, while 100 runs scored in 100 balls would see a strike rate of 100.00 achieved. This is a big factor in T20 and ODI cricket, but it is far less important in Test cricket where scoring rates are not crucial.

Bet – When you predict a certain outcome with some form of stake, usually monetary, attached to it.

Bet Builder – A bet builder allows you to add various selections and combine them together to make one single bet. This allows you to create a bet with longer odds, increasing the potential return you could receive if your bet wins.

Bet Calculator – A tool that can be used to calculate the returns you will get from all of your cricket bets. Usually found on a bookmaker's site, you can select single, double, treble and more and input the stake and odds, with the calculator then showing you your expected returns.

Bet Slip – The area where your bet will be stored. On most betting sites, your bet slip will be stored on the right-hand side of the page, and as you add more selections, it will automatically be updated. It will generate the returns of your selections once you have added your stake.

Betting Exchange – A platform which allows bettors to bet against each other rather than the bookmaker. Players can offer or request odds from other bettors.

Betting Limits – The max or minimum amount you can bet that will be set by your bookmaker of choice.

Betting Market – A reference to any type of bet. It refers to betting categories as well as individual bets.

Betting Odds – The implied probability of an outcome. Also called a price, they calculate the return on your bet.

Big Bash Cricket – Australia’s premier T20 club competition.

Bookmakers – A bookmaker is the operator that you are betting against. Also known as a ‘bookie' for short, this is who will be paying you if you win.

Bouncer – A delivery where the ball hits the pitch at a short length and bounces around or above the batsman’s chest. This is a delivery used to soften a batsman up before delivering a fuller ball for them to get a touch on or miss completely.

Bowled Out – When a team loses all their wickets, and so can no longer continue to score runs.

Bowler Strike Rate – The average number of deliveries it takes for a bowler to take a wicket.

C

Cashback Bonus – A promotion where you will receive your money back. Often part of a risk-free bet where you will be given all or part of your stake if you lose.

Cash Bonus – A bonus that you will receive as cash and not a free bet.

Cash Out – A tool that you use when live betting. You can use the cash out before the market ends. This is can be either in the form of a partial cash out, where you only get a percentage of your bet back, or an automatic cash out, which happens when the offer reaches a certain amount.

(To Score A) Century – A betting market which sees you wagering on whether a certain player will score a century (100 runs) in the game. It can also be a market where you wager if a century will be scored in the match at all or not.

Clean Bowled – When a batsman is out via the ball hitting their stumps from the bowler’s delivery.

Club Cricket – When club teams play against one another.

D

Day/Night Cricket – A cricket match that takes place over the course of the day and night. ODIs and T20s often skirt the line between being played throughout day and night, while Test matches have also started to adopt this too.

Dead Heat – Where there are two or more winners in a specific betting event.

Decimal Odds – One of the most popular odds formats available. You will see odds displayed as 1.2 or 5.00, for example.

Deposit Methods – The methods you use to add funds to your betting account.

Double Chance – In the standard Three-Way market you can bet on home, away or draw. In the Double Chance market, you will choose two different outcomes and win if either outcome occurs. For example, you can back home and draw, meaning you will win if either of these are the outcome, while you will lose if the away team wins.

Draw No Bet – A betting market that is basically the Match Winner market without the draw option available, meaning you only have two options to bet on. Therefore, if you bet on the home team to win, then your bet will come in; if the away team wins, you will lose your stake; if the match ends in a draw, then your stake will be refunded. This betting market is best used with the Test cricket format, as here draws happen quite often.

Drift – When a price lengthens. For example, if England lost their first two games at the Cricket World Cup, their odds would drift, so they would offer a greater return on your bet if they won.

DRS – DRS (Decision Review System) helps the umpire in the decisions they make. Umpires may choose to consult DRS in a run-out opportunity if it is too close to call. Players can also choose to ‘review’ in matches, with a decision the umpire has made challenged and reviewed again by the third umpire.

Duck – When a batsman is out without having scored a single run.

E

Enhanced Odds – This type of promotion is often given to existing customers, especially on big events. It will see the standard odds inflated, meaning you can get more value in your bets.

F

Favourite – Refers to the player or team that is predicted to be the most likely to win a certain market. For example, India may be seen as the favourites to win the Cricket World Cup, and so will offer the shortest odds of any option. Similarly, Joe Root may be seen as the favourite to top score for England, so he will offer the shortest odds with the biggest chance of winning according to the bookie.

First Ball – Bet on what the outcome of the first ball of the game will be. Options include a dot ball, one, two, three, four, six, wicket, wide and more.

First Ball Dot or Not – A bet on whether the first ball of the innings will be a dot ball (no runs scored) or not.

First Innings 50 – Wager on whether or not a fifty (half-century) will be scored in the first innings of the match.

First Over Total Runs – Wager on how many runs will be scored in the first over of the match.

First Wicket Method – A bet on how the first wicket will fall. This could be caught, bowled, LBW (leg before wicket), run out, stumped or other.

Fixed Odds – The odds that you will get from a bookie at a certain time. It means that your bet will be at these odds whether they drift or shorten.

Fold – The size of an acca, with a seven-fold referring to an acca with seven selections, for example.

Follow-on – If a team that is batting second trails the other side by 200 runs or more, then the latter can elect to make them bat again immediately. For example, Team A score 500 runs and Team B are bowled out for 180. Team A can enforce the follow-on, sending Team B straight back into bat.

Form – This refers to the recent results of the sides involved. The form will tell you who goes into the game or tournament on the back of a good or bad run, and will influence the odds the bookie gives you.

Fractional Odds – These odds are extremely popular and the most widely used in European betting. For example, fractional odds appear as ‘5/1’. This means that if you put £1 on and your bet wins, you will win £5 and have your £1 returned. Odds-on will appear in this format: ‘1/2’ or similar, and it means that if you put £2 on, then you will get £1 back along with your £2 bet.

Free Bet – The most widely used and straightforward promotion. It refers to any bet you place that does not require you to stake your own money. The winnings are usually paid out as free bets, and if it is paid as real money, then there will be wagering requirements attached to it that you must adhere to before being able to withdraw your money.

Futures – A bet placed on an event or series that is yet to take place. The result of a futures bet will be determined in the future, and not on the day it is placed.

G

Googly – Bowled by a right-arm leg spinner, the googly spins the opposite way to a standard leg spinner’s delivery, meaning it will go towards the leg stump, rather than towards the off stump.

H

Handicap – Used in order to make a game more of a contest, bookmakers will give a side a handicap to overcome in the match. For the favourite, this will be a negative handicap, such as -30 runs, meaning they will have to beat the opposition by 31 runs or more in order to see your bet win. It will provide longer odds than the standard match winner market in this circumstance.

Highest First Six Overs – Wager on the team that you think will score the most runs in the first six overs (36 balls).

Highest Opening Partnership – Wager on the team that you think will score the most runs between their openers before they lose a wicket. The team that scores the most runs before losing a wicket will see you win this market.

I

Innings – There are two definitions of an innings. The first is when a team has 10 wickets in their innings to try to score as many runs as possible. The second is a player-specific innings, where a batsman tries to score as many runs as they can before losing their wicket.

International Cricket – When international teams such as India, England and Australia play against each other in any format of the game.

IPLBetting on the IPL (Indian Premier League) is betting on the most popular club cricket competition in the world. With many of the best T20 players in the world converging on India to take part, it is seen as the number one event in T20 cricket outside of the World Cup.

J

Joint-Favourites – When there is more than one favourite to win a match or event.

L

Lay – When you choose to bet against a team or side to win. This is often done on betting exchanges.

LBW – Known as Leg Before Wicket, an LBW is when the batsman is trapped as the ball hits a part of their body that is not their bat or hands in front of the stumps. It is important to note that an umpire’s decision will be changed depending on where the ball pitches, if it hit in line with the wickets and whether or not the batsman was attempting to hit the ball. The batsman cannot be out LBW if the ball pitches on the leg-side.

Leg Bye – A run scored by the batting team when the ball did not hit the bat, instead hitting the batsman’s body.

Lengthen – The opposite of when odds shorten. When odds lengthen, it is because the bookmaker deems the chances of this bet coming in as lessening. For example, if Pakistan were to lose five quick wickets, then their odds would lengthen as they have less chance of winning.

Live Betting – When you place bets while a game is in play.

Live Streaming – A function that many of the top online bookies offer. It allows you to watch and bet on the biggest events. To live stream a game, you usually need to either have a funded account, have made a bet in the last 24 hours or have made a bet on the game you want to watch.

Long Shot – A term given to a pick that is believed to have a very small chance of winning, also known as an outsider.

Loyalty Programme – Any promotion that is offered to long-term customers of a certain site can be considered a loyalty programme.

M

Man of the Match – The individual who performs best during a match. It can be a batsman that scores a lot of runs, a bowler that takes a lot of wickets, a fielder with a game-winning contribution or all of these mentioned. This market can be quite subjective, however, as it is usually the commentator that chooses the Man of the Match.

Minimum Bet – The lowest amount you are able to bet with a specific bookie. It will often change depending on the sport and event.

Mobile Betting – This is betting done on a mobile device. Most betting sites are now optimised to mobile players, who dominate the online betting scene.

Most Run Outs – Wager on which team will have the most run outs.

N

No Deposit Free Bet – A free bet that can be claimed and used without having to make a deposit. With most new-customer free bets, you will have to make some kind of deposit to unlock them; no deposit free bets do not require you to do so. Be aware of the fact that you will more than likely have to deposit something in order to withdraw your winnings.

O

Odds – Refers to the probability of a bet being successful. The odds will also allow you to work out how much of a return you will get back.

Odds-Against – When the odds of a bet are greater than even money.

Odds-On – When the odds of a selection are less than even money.

ODI Cricket – ODI cricket (One Day International cricket) is the format of the game that sees 100 total overs bowled in a day. Each team has 50 overs to bat and 50 overs to bowl.

Outsider – Another term for a long shot, and refers to a selection that is seen as being unlikely to win.

Over/Under – A wager on whether the combined number of runs/points/wickets is over or under a specific value offered by the bookmaker.

P

Payout – The amount of money you will get back if your bet is successful. It is made up of both your stake and your winnings.

Powerplay – A powerplay is when there are specific fielding rules over a set of overs. For example, in a powerplay, only two fielders may be allowed outside of the 30-yard circle. This only applies to T20 and ODI cricket, as there are no powerplay rules in Test matches.

Price – Another term for the betting odds.

Promotional Code – A code you must enter to unlock a certain promotion offered by a bookmaker.

Promotions – An offer given by a bookmaker to new or existing customers. A promotion can be in the form of free bets, enhanced odds, matched deposits and more. The promotion a bookmaker gives to new customers, also known as a new customer offer, is often a big reason why bettors sign up with a certain bookie.

Punter – A word that describes a bettor.

R

Request A Bet – When you send a bookmaker a specific bet via Twitter or another channel. A bookmaker will provide you the odds if they accept your bet and allow you to bet on it.

Return – A term for your winnings.

S

Skipper – Slang for the captain of a team.

Stake – Another term for the amount of money that you bet.

T

Team to Score Most Fours – Bet on which of the two teams will score the most fours (a four is when a batsman hits the ball over the boundary rope with it bouncing one or more times).

Team to Score Most Sixes – Wager on which team will score the most sixes (a six is when the batsman hits the ball over the boundary rope without it bouncing).

Test Match Cricket – The longest format of the game. 90 overs are bowled each day, usually over the course of five days for a total of 450 overs. This is the oldest format of the game and it is seen as the pinnacle of cricket.

Tied Match – Bet on whether or not the match will end in a tie.

Time Of First Wicket – Bet over/under on how many overs will be bowled before the first wicket falls.

Top Batsman – A bet on the batsman that will top score in the game.

Top Bowler – Often referred to as Top Wicket-Taker betting, this is a wager on which athlete will be finish the match with most wickets after a match or tournament.

Top Team Batsman – Wager on the batsman that you think will score the most runs in the game.

Top Team Bowler – Bet on the bowler that you think will take the most wickets in the match.

Top Wicket-Taker – Similar to the Top Batsman betting market, the Top Wicket-Taker market allows you to wager on the player you think will take the most wickets in the match.

To Score A Century – A wager on whether a batsman will score 100 runs (a century).

To Score A Fifty – A market that lets you bet on whether a certain player will score a fifty (a half century).

Total Fours – Predict the correct number of fours scored, or use the Over/Under version of this market.

Total Sixes – Predict how many sixes will be scored in the game.

Tournament Winner – Wager on the team you think will be the outright winner of a tournament.

To Win the Match – A bet on the match winner. Options will include Team A, Team B and draw.

To Win the Toss – A betting market that allows you to bet on the winner of the toss. The toss is a coin toss that both captains contest at the start of the game to see who gets the choice of batting or fielding first. This can be exceptionally important, as the pitch will often be better to bat or bowl on first.

Treble – A bet consisting of three selections, with all needing to win for your bet to come in.

T20 Cricket – T20 cricket, also known as Twenty20 cricket, is the shortest format of the game. Each side is given 20 overs (120 balls) to bat and 120 balls in the field.

V

Value Bet – A bet where the probability of a given outcome is greater than what the bookmaker’s price suggests.

W

Wagering Requirements – The number of times the bonus needs to be wagered in order for the bookie to pay it out.

Welcome Offer – The offer given by a bookie to entice new customers into signing up. A welcome offer can come in the form of free bets, matched deposits and many others.

Winner Betting – A bet on the winner of a specific game. The options will be Team A, Team B or draw, and you can only choose one in this specific betting market.

Winning Margin – The margin of victory for one team over another.

Withdrawals – The process of taking money out of your betting account.

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