To Ashes Betting Sites

What are The Ashes?

The Ashes is one of the most illustrious events in cricket. It takes place between England and Australia every two years, with the nations taking turns to host. Typically spread out over seven weeks, The Ashes comprises five Test matches, with each Test taking up to five days to complete. At the end of the series, the winner takes home the famous Urn; in the event of a draw, the current holders of the Urn retain The Ashes.

Betting Markets

Cricket is a complex sport, and The Ashes offers plenty of betting markets for you to choose from. Here’s a list of some of the most recognised.

Outright Winner

A simple one to start: who will win The Ashes? One of the great things about cricket – and something to bear in mind when betting in this market – is that after 25 days, the series can still end in a draw. The holders of The Ashes retain it in this scenario, but be sure to check whether this counts as an outright win in your bookmaker’s mind. And remember that home advantage plays a big part in cricket, particularly over a five-match series.

Series Score

Since each Test match can end in a draw, it’s possible, though unlikely, that the score at the end of the series could be 0-0. Cricket, eh? The score could also be 5-0, 3-2, and any variation in-between. In this market, you make your prediction.

Top Run-Scorer

Cricket loves to celebrate its leading run-scorers and wicket-takers. Who will accumulate the most runs throughout the whole series?

Top Wicket-Taker

The exact same market as above but for the bowlers. Who will trouble the batsmen the most and end up with the most wickets in the series?

Innings Runs

In this market, you pick the player to make the highest score in a single innings. For reference, The Ashes record is Sir Len Hutton’s 364, which he made in 1938. That won’t be beaten!

Method of Dismissal

There are numerous different ways in which a batter can be dismissed: bowled, leg-before-wicket (lbw), caught, stumped, run-out, hit wicket, handling the ball, obstructing the field, hitting the ball twice, and timed out. Small tip: for this market, don’t pick any of the last seven in this list!

Fifty/Century

For this market, pick the player to score the most fifties or centuries in the series. Once a player passes 100, the first fifty runs they scored to get there no longer count as a fifty overall. Similarly, if a player scores 200, this does not count as two centuries. One score of 100+ will only count as one century.

Most Five-For

A 5-for, or a five-wicket haul, is when a bowler takes five wickets in an innings, and ranks alongside a century in terms of achievement. The ‘for’ is insignificant, merely indicating the number of runs scored against the bowler i.e., 5 wickets for 50 runs. In this market, pick the bowler to end up with the most five-fors in the series.

Accumulators

Affectionately known as an ‘acca’, an accumulator bet is high risk but high reward. Accumulators combine the results of multiple bets into one overall wager. The odds of each individual component are multiplied together, meaning that the potential winnings – even from a very low stakes bet – can be far higher than standard match betting odds. 

In order to win an accumulator, every component of the bet must come off. However, the best cricket betting sites will offer accumulator insurance – a condition that means if just one of the components of your acca doesn’t come off, the bookie will reimburse you either in the form of free bets, money back, or some other bonus offer.

Bet In-Play

Many punters like to place bets before the action has started, but it’s the in-play markets that often capture the thrills of Ashes cricket. You can capitalise on the fluctuating odds of in-play betting, placing bets having assessed the feeling of the match. Cricket can change in the blink of an eye, so be sure to consider the in-play markets. 

The best bookies even offer live streaming features on their sites. Bear in mind that in order to use this feature, you may first be required to deposit money into your account, or fulfil another obligation.

Cash Out

If you’re beginning to feel nervy about your bet, cashing out might be the option for you. This feature allows players to take any potential winnings away from a bet that’s still in play, with the amount based on the likelihood of your bet coming off. For example, you’ve bet on the match ending in a draw, but after a dramatic batting collapse, James Anderson and Stuart Broad find themselves having to negotiate the final ten overs of play to save the Test. Will they cling on? Cash out now!

Bonuses

The best betting sites offer new players a handsome welcome bonus to get them started. This varies from site to site, and may include some of the bonus types listed below.

Matched Deposits

For match deposit bonuses, the bookie matches your deposit up to a set amount. For example, if you’re offered 100% up to £100, any deposit you make up to £100 will be matched in its entirety by the bookmaker. Keep in mind that wagering requirements will very likely apply.

Free Bets

Bookmakers might offer free bets to both new and existing customers, usually dependent on a set minimum bet amount. This will look something like an offer of £50 in free bets when you deposit £20 into your account. As always, make sure you read the terms and conditions.

Bet x, Get y

You might come across a bonus offer following the bet x, get y formula. For these bonuses, you’ll be offered something like ‘bet £10, get £30 in free bets’. If this sounds like free money to you, remember to read those all-important Ts and Cs, as the ‘y’ will usually have strings attached.

Promotions

Many betting sites will offer one-off promotions tied to a specific event. Here’s an explanation of some of the other most common betting promotions.

Money-Back

With money-back offers, you’ll get your stake back if a specific stipulation is met in-play. For example, money back if Steve Smith scores a century.

Enhanced Odds

When a bookie is feeling particularly generous, or if they’re looking to outmuscle the competition, they’ll offer customers enhanced odds – an artificial way of boosting normal odds to attract a significant number of bets. With enhanced odds, you might be in line for a decent payout, even if you’ve picked a fairly safe bet.

Bet Editing

Unhappy with the bet you placed? The top betting sites may offer the option of bet editing, which utilises the cash out function in order to make changes to your original bet. With bet editing, your existing bet is cashed out and a new bet is placed with the edited sections, using the cash out amount as the stake. Your new bet will be placed at the current odds.

Payment Methods

There’s lots of flexibility in how to pay for your bet. Debit card payments remain ubiquitous, and you can use this method at all betting sites. But other banking methods, such as e-wallet services, are becoming favourable for punters drawn to fast processing times, quick transfer of funds, and excellent security infrastructure. PayPal and Skrill are two of the most popular e-wallet providers, but bear in mind that not all betting sites accept these payments. 

There are a couple of other options too. Boku, a pay-by-phone service, allows users to charge payments to their phone number, which are then integrated into the user’s monthly phone bill. Users of Boku enjoy the convenience of this method, which involves no card details, but again, not all bookmakers accept Boku. 

And Paysafecard, a prepaid card service, offers another option for punters. Paysafecard lets you pay in the same way as with a debit card, and you can top up your balance in seconds via your Paysafecard account.

Mobile Betting

Mobile-optimisation is now the bare minimum for the top betting sites, and many bookmakers now offer dedicated mobile apps. At TopRatedBetting, we always recommend downloading these apps if you can, as they offer users peak functionality and slick interfaces. In addition to this, push notifications keep you abreast of promotions and betting bonuses, meaning you won’t miss out on any great offers.

Responsible Gambling

It’s important to us that users of our site gamble responsibly. There are lots of resources that offer betting tips, but the best research is always your own – make sure you’ve taken a bit of time to study the sport, event, teams and players in question, and that you avoid betting on markets you’re unfamiliar with. 

And when you do decide to have a punt, ask yourself if you’re in the right condition to keep a level head, and always avoid the urge to chase losses.