Best Cricket Tournaments In The World (2022)

Three Main Formats Of Modern-day Cricket

The sport has evolved with the times, and today, we have three primary formats between which all the top cricket tournaments in the world and in India are played.

Format	Number of Overs	Length
Test	Unlimited	Up to 5 days
ODI	50-overs a side	Up to 9 hours
Twenty20 (T20)	20-overs a side	3-3.5 Hours
Ten10 (T10)	10-overs a side	1.5-2 Hours

Test Matches

This is original cricket, something that puritans of the sport swear by. Test cricket is considered to be the highest benchmark in cricket.
This format is aptly called Test, as the long and gruelling nature of the games makes them a real test for the players, both mentally and physically.
The first format to be ever introduced, Test cricket involves two teams battling it out session-by-session over five long days and four innings. It is the real battle of resilience, grit, and determination.
Some of the top cricket tournaments in the world, like the Ashes and the Border-Gavaskar trophy, are Test matches.
In 2012, the International Cricket Council (ICC) tried to reinvigorate Test cricket by allowing day/night matches.
As of today, only 12 teams have been conferred Test status, and only these are permitted to play Test cricket. The 12 teams are India, Australia, England, South Africa, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Bangladesh, Ireland, Afghanistan, and Zimbabwe.

One Day Internationals (ODIs)

The current ODI format as we have it is a relatively late development, having started and prospered from the 1970s.
In this format, two teams lock horns, each with 50 overs (300 legal deliveries) to bat. An ODI typically lasts up to nine hours, given that it’s an uninterrupted game.
The 12 Test-playing countries (that are also the ICC’s permanent members) can play ODI cricket.
Those 12 aside, eight other teams currently hold a ‘Temporary ODI’ status. These are Scotland, UAE, Nepal, Netherlands, USA, Papua New Guinea, Namibia, and Oman.
Some of the best cricket tournaments in the world are played in this format.

For comprehensive ODI records and stats, check out ESPNcricinfo and other top-rated live cricket score sites and apps.

Twenty20 (T20I)

Twenty20 is the newest format of the sport, introduced by the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) back in 2003.
The two teams play 20 overs a side (120 legal deliveries), with each game typically lasting up to three hours (including the official 10-minute gap between innings).
This format has undoubtedly helped boost the sport’s popularity and expand its reach worldwide. Some of the world’s most popular cricket tournaments (for example, Vitality Blast T20, Pakistan Super League, Big Bash), along with domestic cricket leagues like the IPL, belong to this format.

You’ll find some of the most varied cricket betting markets and seriously competitive cricket betting odds on offer for T20s.

100-ball Cricket

This format is not among the three primary ones, but still one that’s certain to gain more ground with days to come.
This is 100-ball cricket, where each team gets to play 100 balls in their innings.
The fielding team changes ends after every 10 balls (which is usually six balls, or an over, in the other three formats).
Each bowler can bowl a maximum of 20 balls in a game, with 5 or 10 deliveries successively (the captain will decide if it’s 5 or 10).
Each match typically lasts up to 2.5 hours.

World’s Most Popular Cricket Tournaments

Here’s a snapshot of the top cricket tournaments in the world. This is almost exhaustive, with some of India’s best cricket betting apps and sites offering markets for them.

Tournament	First Edition	Latest Edition	Format	Current Champion	Most Successful
Men’s Cricket World Cup	1975	2019	ODI	England	Australia (5 Titles)
Women’s Cricket World Cup	1973	2022	ODI	Australia	Australia (7 titles won)
Men’s T20 World Cup	2007	2021	T20	Australia	West Indies (2 Titles)
Women’s T20 World Cup	2009	2020	T20	Australia	Australia (5 Titles)
Asia Cup	1984	2018	ODI & T20	India	India (7 Titles)
The Ashes	1882-83	2021-22	Test (all 5-match series)	Australia	Australia (34 Ashes Series)
The Women’s Ashes	1934-35	2021-22	Test (until 2011); ODI & T20 (since 2013)	Australia	Australia (9 Titles)
Border-Gavaskar Trophy	1996-97	2021-22	Test (3-match series)	India	India (10 Titles)
Australian Tri Series	1979-80	2017-18	ODI (1979-2015); T20 (2018 onwards)	Australia	Australia (20 titles won)
ICC Champions Trophy	1998	2017	ODI	Pakistan	India & Australia (2 Titles apiece)

Top Cricket Tournaments In The World

In this section, we take a look at eight of the world’s best cricket tournaments, which are a definite feature with every operator. You can expect a wide variety of markets for these, coupled with competitive odds, even at some of India’s new betting sites.

1. ICC Men’s 50-Over Cricket World Cup

This is the real deal, the pinnacle of ODI cricket. Officially called the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, this flagship quadrennial showpiece is the ultimate honour in limited-overs cricket. Organised by the ICC every four years, the 50-over World Cup regularly features as one of the world’s most viewed broadcasts.

ICC Men’s 50-Over Cricket World Cup

England is the current World Cup champion after winning the 2019 edition. The next chapter of this top international cricket tournament will be hosted in India in 2023, followed by the subsequent edition in 2027, which will be jointly held by South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.

2. ICC Women’s 50-Over Cricket World Cup

The ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup is the oldest championship in the history of this sport. First hosted in 1973 (two years before the men’s World Cup), this top cricket tournament was initially organized by the International Women’s Cricket Council (IWCC). It was not until 2005 that the IWCC merged with ICC to organize this grand tournament.

The early years of the women’s World Cup saw many funding difficulties, as a result, several teams refused to compete, often forcing gaps of up to six years between the tournaments. Since 2005, it has been hosted every four years.

The Australian women’s team has been the most successful, winning seven championships to date. In fact, they’re the current champions as well, having defeated England in the final of the 2022 edition. The next edition will be held in 2025.

3. ICC Men’s T20 World Cup

The first-ever ICC Men’s T20 World Cup was held in 2007 in South Africa, with a young and largely inexperienced Indian side emerging as the champion under the stewardship of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. This top-bracket international cricket tournament has usually been held every two years. However, after the 2016 edition, the latest T20 World Cup was only held in 2021 in India. This five-year gap was forced due to Covid 19.

Currently, 16 teams participate in the T20 World Cup, but that number will become 20 starting from 2024. Bettors have a whale of a time, mainly because leading cricket bookmakers start offering a flurry of free bets during this time.

Australia, the current T20 world champion, will host the next edition of the tournament in 2022, scheduled from October 16 – November 13.

4. ICC Women’s T20 World Cup

ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, previously known as ICC Women’s World Twenty20, is a biennial tournament organized by the ICC. The first three editions — held in 2009, 2010, and 2012 — had eight participating teams, but it has since been raised to 10 in 2014.

The latest edition of this top cricket tournament was held in 2020 in Australia. The women from Down Under are also the current champions as well as the most successful team, having won the trophy five times. The next edition will be held in South Africa in 2023.

5. Asia Cup

First held in 1984, the Asia Cup is one of its kind. That’s because it keeps alternating between ODI and T20 formats every two years, with the winning team crowned the champions in Asia. The 2016 Asia Cup was the first edition to be played as T20I, serving as a preparatory tournament for the T20 World Cup the same year.

India has been the most successful team in the Asia Cup, winning the championship a record seven times (one T20 and six ODI). With five titles, Sri Lanka is the second most successful.

The next edition of what is undoubtedly one of the most popular cricket tournaments in India (and the Indian sub-continent) will be held in 2022, scheduled from August 27 – September 11.

6. The Ashes

Inarguably one of the top cricket tournaments in the world, The Ashes is in a league of its own.

The name was first coined in 1882 when a British newspaper, The Sporting Times, published a satirical obituary immediately after Australia’s victory at the Oval, the team’s maiden Test win on English soil. The publication read that English cricket was dead, and “the body will be cremated, and the ashes taken to Australia”. Ivo Bligh, the then English skipper, vowed to “regain those ashes”, and that was how the name came to be.

Each Ashes is typically a 5-Test series, hosted by Australia and England in turn, at least once every couple of years. The team that wins the series is regarded to have earned the Ashes. In the case of a drawn series, the team that won the Ashes the previous time retains the trophy.

The latest Ashes was held in 2021-22, where Australia decimated England 4-0.

7. Border-Gavaskar Trophy

The Border-Gavaskar Trophy is a major international cricket tournament (Test only) played between Australia and India every two years. The latest edition was held in 2020-21 when India won the 4-Test series 2-1.

This top cricket tournament is named after two of the world’s finest cricketers and former skippers, India’s Sunil Gavaskar, and Australia’s Allan Border.

8. ICC Champion’s Trophy

The ICC Champions Trophy was an ODI tournament, second in significance only to the 50-over World Cup. Inaugurated in 1998 as the ICC Knockout Tournament, it has been played every four years since. In 2002, the name was changed to Champions Trophy.

Interestingly, the 2013 Champions Trophy was supposed to be the last edition of this top cricket tournament. However, due to its massive popularity, the ICC extended it till 2017. It was in 2018 when the ICC decided to replace it with the T20 World Cup, which was to be held every two years.

It should be of utmost interest to all cricket lovers that under the ‘Future Tour Programme’, the ICC has decided to reinstate this top cricket tournament from 2025 with Pakistan as the host, followed by India hosting it in 2029.

Pakistan is the current Champions Trophy holder, having defeated India in the final in 2017.

Top Cricket Leagues In The World

Apart from the major international cricket tournaments discussed above, you can also bet on some of the world’s top cricket leagues. These are domestic cricketing competitions featuring players from that country, plus a roster of international players from around the world.

Check out our betting guides below:

Top Domestic Cricket Tournaments In India

Below is a snapshot of the top cricket tournaments played domestic to India.

Tournament	Started	Number of Teams	Current Champion	Most Successful
Ranji Trophy	1934	38	Saurashtra Cricket Team (1st title)	Mumbai (formerly Bombay, 41 titles)
Irani Cup	1960	2	Vidarbha (2nd title)	Rest of India (28 titles)
Duleep Trophy	1961	3	India Red (2nd title)	North Zone & West Zone (18 titles)
Deodhar Trophy	1973	3	India B (2nd title)	North Zone (13 titles)
Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy	2006	38	Tamil Nadu (3rd title)	Tamil Nadu (3 titles)
Vijay Hazare Trophy	2002	38	Himachal Pradesh (1st title)	Tamil Nadu (5 titles)

Top International Series & Matches Across Formats

Apart from all the top cricket tournaments in the world, the teams also play bilateral/trilateral series and one-off matches against each other. Here’s a list of all the matches/bilateral tournaments we have covered on CBA.

Most Popular Cricket League In The World

The Indian Premier League (IPL) was founded by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2007, and the first-ever edition was held in 2008.

According to data released by the Broadcast Audience Research Council India (BARC), IPL 2022 clocked 229 million TV viewers in the very first week of the tournament, making it one of the most popular cricket tournaments in the history of the game.

In 2022, two new teams — Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans — were added to the fold, taking the count of teams to 10. The Hardik Pandya-led Gujarat Titans, playing their maiden IPL, clinched the title.

Started in	2008
Number of Teams	10
Current Champions	Gujarat Titans (1 title won)
Most Titles Won	Mumbai Indians (5 titles won)
Highest Run Scorer	Virat Kohli (6624 runs)
Most Wickets	Dwayne Bravo (183 wickets)

Top Cricket Tournaments In The World FAQs

What are the best cricket tournaments in the world?: We have already discussed some of the world’s top cricket tournaments in this blog. But if you were to ask us to narrow it down, we’d say the ICC Men’s 50-over World Cup, the T20 World Cup, the Ashes, and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy rank among the top four international cricket tournaments.
What is the most famous Test series?: It really depends on whom you ask. That said, we think the Ashes, played between Australia and England, is arguably the most famous Test series. It has been played since 1882 and is the oldest rivalry in cricket by far.
How many domestic cricket tournaments are there in India?: There are over 30 major cricketing competitions in the country. However, if we had to single out the top six domestic cricket leagues in India, they’d be the Ranji Trophy, Irani Cup, Vijay Hazare Trophy, Duleep Trophy, Deodhar Trophy, and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
What’s the most popular cricket tournament in India?: Again, that’s a question the answer for which will depend on whom you ask. However, what we can vouch for is that the Indian Premier League is undoubtedly the country’s most-watched and popular cricket league.
What’s a unique cricket bet I can place?: Frankly, there can be no one answer to that. That’s because all the major cricket tournaments typically offer a raft of betting markets for you, which you can choose from depending on your skill level and the competitiveness of the odds. That said, we suggest that if you’re only starting, stick to more straightforward markets, like match winner. More intricate betting markets require a thorough understanding of the game, and you should ideally take on those if you are an avid watcher of the sport.

CricketBettingAdvice Final Say

Cricket is a gentleman’s game, and the top cricket tournaments in the world offer some of the most exciting and breath-taking sporting action. In this article, we covered all the major cricket tournaments, the top leagues, popular international series, and some of the most famous domestic cricket tournaments in India.

Thanks to the raft of betting markets and competitive odds, these tournaments provide a raft of betting opportunities throughout the year. So, check your cricket calendar and never miss any of the top cricket tournaments and leagues available across online bookmakers.

The Cricket Betting Advice team of writers are all defined by one goal: to provide you with the best online cricket betting content on the web.

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