What are the different cricket formats?
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While the sport of cricket is growing in popularity beyond its colonial origins, more recent developments in the game have shifted focus away from Five-day or Test cricket, into newer forms.
One-Day cricket and more recently Twenty/20 (T20) cricket have become hugely popular options for cricket fans, both to watch and also to bet on.
Strange as it may seem, although there may be three dominant forms of the game, they share many more similarities than they do differences.
So, let’s begin by pointing out what is the same when it comes to Five-Day, One-Day or T20 cricket before we move on to the main differences between the three.
Similarities Between All Forms of Cricket
Although there are a number of forms of cricket, the general principles of the game remain the same for each.
In all forms of cricket the following is true:
- The batting team aims to score as many runs as possible and preserve as many of their wickets as possible.
- The bowling team aims to bowl out their opposition for the fewest runs possible.
- Once the first team’s innings has taken place, the second team will have their batting innings.
- Each cricket team comprises of 11 players, some specialist batters, some specialist bowlers, some specialists as a batter and bowler (called an all-rounder) and one wicket-keeper.
- The bowling team can take the wicket of a batsmen in any of the following ways. Common methods of dismissal – Caught, Bowled, Leg Before Wicket, Run Out, Stumped. Less Common forms of dismissal include: Hit Wicket, Hit the ball twice, Obstructing the fielder, Retired Hurt and Handled the Ball.
- Once a ball has been bowled dealt with by the batsman, they can run between the wickets, scoring one run for each successful completion of a run. If the ball reaches the boundary rope along the floor then the batsman does not have to run and scores four runs. If the ball travels in the air and does not bounce before the boundary rope, the batsman scores six runs.
- Bowlers bowl six bowls in an over, although if they bowl a no ball or other illegal delivery, they are required to bowl another ball in place of that and the batting team scores one run for that illegal delivery.
The Key Differences Between The Three Forms of Cricket
The easiest way to differentiate between the three forms of cricket is by checking out some key information about each form of the game. We have outlined this key information for each form of the game below.
Test Match or Five-Day Cricket
- Duration : Up to five days
- Number of Innings per team : Two
- Winning criteria : There are two criteria that a team must achieve across the two innings in order to win a test cricket match. They must bowl out their opposition (or have them declare a total) and then beat their opponents number of runs with at least one wicket remaining. If either criteria is not met, such as one team is not bowled out at the end of five days, but they do not score more runs than their opponent, then the game is a draw.
- Top Test or 5 Day Competitions : International Test Series and Matches (such as The Ashes, Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Summer and Winter tours), the Vitality County Championship (4-day).
One-Day Cricket
- Duration : No more than one day.
- Number of Innings per team : One (usually of 50-60 overs)
- Winning criteria : The team that scores the most runs regardless of the number of wickets lost in their allotted overs is the winner. If the number of runs scored is the same, then the game is a draw. In some cases, drawn games may be decided by the use of a super-over.
- Top One-Day Competitions : One Day Series, ICC Cricket World Cup, ICC Champions Trophy, Asia Cup (alternately with T20)
T20 Cricket
- Duration : 20 Overs per team, a total of around 2-3 hours per game.
- Number of Innings per team : One (20 overs, weather permitting)
- Winning criteria : The team with the most runs wins. In the event of a tie, a Super-Over may be used to determine the winner in some competitions where ties are not allowed.
- Top T20 Competitions : T20 World Cup, Indian Premier League, T20 Blast, Asia Cup (alternately with One-Day)
Now that we understand the key differences between the three forms of cricket, the question we now must ask is whether this affects the betting markets available for each form of the game.
Are the Betting Markets Different for Each Form of Cricket?
In truth, the vast majority of betting markets you will find for each form of cricket are generally either the same, or very similar.
The main difference is when it comes to Five-day or Test Match cricket. In this form of the game, the fact that teams have two innings and that the bowling team has to get 20 wickets in total to win does make for opportunities to bet on markets pertaining to the first and second innings for both teams.
However, the modifications required for these types of bets are generally small. Most markets, whether it is future betting on cricket, pre-match betting for a game set to start shortly or even In-Play betting on a match in progress, are all very similar or the same.
For example, a bet on which batsman scores the highest amount of runs in the first innings would be available in all three forms of the game, as would bets such as the highest number of wickets taken in the innings.
The fact that the game of cricket remains largely the same, regardless of its form, means that the betting markets mostly remain unchanged.
Catching The Sweet Spot With Cricket Betting In All Its Forms!
So, as you can see, there are a wealth of options available when betting on cricket as a futures bet, pre-match, or in-play.
Furthermore, the betting options differ only slightly between the different forms of cricket, despite the fact that the game may be played very differently in one form compared to the other.
Regardless of which form of cricket you bet on, you will have plenty of great markets to pick from, great value odds, and the chance to win a bet or two at the expense of the bookies. But only if you can make the right selections!
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