What cricket betting fans learned in 2019

2019 was a huge year for cricket and the action did not disappoint

Year 2019 witnessed a good number of memorable cricketing moments that changed fortunes of many cricket betting fans. The year started with team India scoring their first ever historic test series victory over Australia, playing down under. Sri Lanka on the other hand got the better of Proteas in South Africa, becoming the first ever Asian team to score a test series victory in that country.

At Lord’s Cricket ground, England lived up to the tradition of host countries winning the World Cups after scoring a thrilling yet controversial win in the final game, with the help of boundary count rule. That amazing final game saw a lot of fortunes shifting sides in the cricket betting markets world over. Punters who bet with top cricket betting sites in the UK (read more here) scored handsome profits, while the novices lost considerable sums. Australia and England thereafter continued with their Ashes rivalry, which as expected was once again a closely fought series. Joffra Archer, Ben Stokes and Steve Smith delivered some memorable performances, with the series ending up in a 2-2 draw. As a result, Aussies retained the Ashes as they had won the 2018 edition.

Let’s talk about some such critical moments of 2019 that left cricket betting fans with a lot of learnings.

World Cup super over taught cricket bettors the importance of being well aware of the cricket rules

The way England won the World Cup at Lords is always going to be a subject of ridicule going forward, as it happened because of a certain boundary count rule (now scrapped) that not many had an idea about. Regardless, both New Zealand and England delivered memorable performances to produce the best World Cup final ever. With both sides tied up at 241, the game went into the super over. Requiring 16 runs to win in the super over, New Zealand scored exact 15 in a highly dramatic fashion, thereby tying up the super over too.

However, Kiwis ended up facing the heart break as England were declared world champions simply because they had hit more number of boundaries in the game (the boundary count rule)! Anyone who had been placing live bets during that final super over could have made a huge fortune for themselves if they had been aware of this rule. As a result, there was a lesson for every cricket bettor to always be on top of cricket rules to make the most of such opportunities.

Smith’s superb run in the Ashes proved why bettors should always go with the statistics

As has been suggested time and again, it’s very important for cricket betting fans to study the past records of players and teams before placing any bets on them. There is no point betting against a cricketer just because he’s returning from a ban and has faced very tough times lately. Cricket betting enthusiasts learnt it the hard way when they saw Steve Smith enjoying a run feast in the Ashes 2019. He was earlier handed a 12 months’ ban for being involved in a ball-tampering incident. Having made his return to test cricket in the Ashes 2019, he batted in such amazing fashion that no one felt he had ever been away from international cricket.

The talented Aussie scored 144 and 142 runs in the two respective innings of the first Ashes test in Birmingham, his comeback match, thereby giving Aussies a 1-0 lead in the series. He was well on his way to score another century in the second test at Lord’s before a blow on the neck from a Jofra Archer delivery got him retired hurt. Although he returned back to the pitch, he looked unsettled and was resultantly dismissed for 92. Despite missing the 3rd test at Headingley, he played a key role in Australia’s victory in the 4th test at Manchester, smashing 211 and 82 runs in the first two innings. He finished the series with a total of 774 runs, a highly impressive feat in his return series.

Cricket punters learnt the importance of studying the past records and placing their bets accordingly. Furthermore, the importance of consistently watching and studying everyone’s game.

Kusal Perera’s phenomenal 153 not out proved it’s never over till it’s over!

Apart from the brilliant performances of Steve Smith and Ben Stokes, as well as the World Cup debacle, the heroic 153 not out scored by Kusal Perera back in February 2019, in Durban, was what the dream performances are made up of! Requiring 304 runs for victory, it seemed like a lost battle for Sri Lanka at 226 for 9. Kusal Perera was playing on 86 when Vishwa Fernando, the last man walked onto the pitch. Any cricket punter would have gone all in behind South Africa at that point. However, the smarter ones would have waited and made the opportunity count.

Perera went on an amazing counter-attack, also protecting Fernando from strike. He single-handedly brought Sri Lanka out of that situation and gave them a victory that cricket fans will talk about for many decades to come. He hit 12 fours and 5 sixes in the process, scoring a total of 153 not out. Buoyed by that miraculous effort, Sri Lanka scored a historic 2-0 test series victory over South Africa in South Africa, a first for any Asian team.

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