The start of the ICC Champions Trophy Cricket Betting will bring a lot of excitement from forth because England are going into the tournament as a frontrunner. Not only are they a side in form, but they are hosting the tournament as well which runs from June 1st through to June 18th. So will England be able to live up to the hype or will they be facing extra pressures of being the hosts as well as the favourites, as that is something which can undo even the best sides in the world when they are facing that situation? Of course, there are some serious challenges going to be thrown their way with the likes of Australia, South Africa and India going well, so it is going to be a big couple of weeks for English cricket.
ICC Champions Trophy Cricket Betting Odds
England 11/4, Australia 3/1, South Africa 7/2, India 9/2, New Zealand 9/1, Pakistan 20/1, Sri Lanka 33/1, Bangladesh 50/1
ICC Champions Trophy Cricket Betting Promotion
Boylesports are running an ICC Champions Trophy special promotion. Get your money back as a free bet if your team scores 300+ runs but fails to win in every ICC Champions Trophy match. There is a max refund £20 per customer as a free bet and applies to single bets placed on pre-match Match Betting only. One free bet per customer per match, qualifying bet is first placed on the match betting market. Runs scored in a super over do not count. Register an account with Boylesports and place a bet of £10 or more at odds of EVS (2.0) or greater, and receive £30 in FREE BETS.
ICC Champions Trophy Cricket Betting Previews
Group A: England, Australia, New Zealand, Bangladesh
Group B: India, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka
England
The home side goes into the tournament fresh off the back of a ODI series win over the top-ranked side in the world, South Africa. So that’s not a bad way to warm up and Eoin Morgan’s side is going to be running with some confidence. They have good reason too because they have been playing some tremendously consistent cricket for a long time now and there is a great camaraderie within the squad. They will have the boisterous home support on their side though but that can be a double-edged sword because the pressure of playing at home intensifies everything. Look at England rugby’s failed campaign at the 2015 World Cup as hosts. Four years ago England finished as runner-up to India in a shortened match following rain. England lost their nerve when it mattered most, but the current squad looks tougher with a bigger mental fortitude. England are stacked with batting power with the likes of Eoin Morgan, Joe Root, Moeen Ali Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes in there. There is going to be a battle between the struggling Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow for a place in the side. England’s bowling isn’t quite up to their batting power but it’s solid enough. England’s Joe Root is a 10/1 joint second favourite at Boylesports to finish as the Top Tournament Batsman.
Australia
There is probably no better bowling line up in the ICC Champions Trophy Cricket Betting than what the Austrians can roll out. They have some serious pace and power and with the potential swing from damper pitches, that could make a huge difference, especially against the sub-continent sides who prefer it a little bit drier to bring their spin into play. Australia warmed up with a win over Sri Lanka and then an interesting clash with Pakistan was rained out. The depth in batting perhaps isn’t there as much as England’s is, but their pace attack with the likes of Mitchell Starc and James Pattinson can do some damage to many batting line ups. Vice Captain David Warner is 8/1 joint-favourite at Bet365 to finish as the top batsman for the tournament. They will be a threat on their day. Australia’s big clash with their old rivals England comes on June 10th.
South Africa
What makes South Africa interesting is that they are much better than the form that they showed against England in the recent three-match ODI series. They have batting power in abundance and you just have to look at the top of their order with Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock and AB de Villiers up there. That’s an enviable start to your batting line up. There was something off as a whole from the South African performances against England, maybe just finding their way on the grounds, but they were pitches suited to batting and it’s a surprise that the Proteas didn’t hammer out more runs. Indeed at times, they seemed impatient and just threw away their wickets in some circumstances, as if they were frustrated. Their batting will get them pretty close to the title though, at least, it should. Quinton de Kock is a great 12/1 punt to finish at the top batsman.
India
You would normally look at India and picture them needing some nice dry tracks for spin. However, with their current balance in the squad, they aren’t going to worry too much what kind of surface they are going to play on because they are very flexible and adaptable. They also have the incentive of going out and defending the title which they won four years ago. You look at key players like captain Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni and there is tremendous experience there and as well as bringing fire cracking spin through the likes of Rohit Sharma they are going to be a major threat and at 9/2 with Boylesports in ICC Champions Trophy Cricket Betting they are well worth a punt. They put two big wins on the board over New Zealand and Bangladesh just as a warning sign that they are ready for this.
The rest
New Zealand even though they no longer have Brendon McCullum, much like Australia will be competitive, but they Black Caps are going to have a rough battle against the Aussies and England in Group A. Sri Lanka are probably going to struggle as well with conditions not particularly in their favour while Pakistan will most be playing off pride more than posing a serious threat of getting their hands on the title.
ICC Champions Trophy Cricket Betting Key Dates
England v Bangladesh – June 1st
Australian v New Zealand – June 2nd
India v Pakistan – June 4th
England v New Zealand – June 6th
England v Australia – June 10th
India v South Africa – June 11th
Semi Finals – June 14th/15th
Final – June 18th
ICC Champions Trophy Cricket Betting Prediction
England have to be worth a flutter as the home side, because they look confident and composed at the moment. Their series win over South Africa is a testament to that. But India look such a powerful and well-balanced side at the moment as well that they are likely going to get very close to the title and they are running without the same kind of expectations that England will be because the English have the pressure of being hosts too. If South Africa can perform mentally better than they did in the ODI against England, they have the batting to take it. So this is going to be close all the way, but our tip would be just to go for a full toss on India at 9/2 with Boylesports to defend their title.
ICC Champions Trophy Cricket History
2017 is the eighth edition of the ICC Champions Trophy and seven nations have qualified for each tournament (Australia, England, India, new Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka. Of those seven teams, the only two sides not to win it are England and Pakistan. England have been to the final twice (2004, 2013) while Pakistan have yet to make it that far. Australia and India are the only two nations to have won it twice, while New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka have each won it one. West Indies have won it one before as well, but they failed to qualify for the tournament for the first time in its history this go around. Just one host nation has won the tournament before, with Sri Lanka being declared co-champions with India in 2002 after both the initial day of the final and the reserve day were both rained away.
