Death, taxes and Australia winning major cricket tournaments.
There are just some certainties in life, and the Aussies winning World Cups and similarly prestigious competitions should come as a surprise to nobody – even when the odds are stacked against them.
Pat Cummins’ ODI team silenced the home crowd in India at the World Cup in November, while in 2024 the women’s side will be looking to improve their already incredible record of winning six of the last seven T20 World Cups.
And given the form of their key players at the Women’s Big Bash League this winter, it would take a brave soul to bet against them adding a magnificent seventh to their collection.
Horses for Courses
Australia’s men’s teams continue to offer great value to bettors. They were huge underdogs for the ODI World Cup final in India, while they find themselves a juicy +350 chance for those placing their Paddy Power bets for the T20 version, with the Indians once again favorites at +250. An odds calculator confirms that a wager on the Aussies would return $4.50 for every $1 wagered.
The women’s team, thanks to their remarkable record in the tournament, will instead go off a heavy favorite to retain the trophy they won in resounding fashion in Cape Town.
That’s because their leading players continue to shine in the shortest format of the game – as evidenced by their fine WBBL form. At the time of writing, with just three league phase games to be played, Beth Mooney was leading the run charts with Ellyse Perry not far behind. Katie Mack is another who could force her way into the international reckoning based on her Big Bash efforts.
Jess Jonassen was amongst the wickets for Brisbane Heat, Amy Edgar and Lauren Cheatle continue to press their international claims, while the WBBL has once again served as a reminder of Sophie Day’s talents – the player led the way in the wickets column with 27 at the time of going to press.
The cricket world has paid tribute to Meg Lanning after she called time on her international career https://t.co/4rgClkiNRz
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) November 9, 2023
Australia will miss Meg Lanning going forward – she’s announced her retirement from international cricket, but it’s clear that there’s so much strength in depth in the women’s game that they will once again be the strong favorite to lift the T20 World Cup trophy.
Familiar Territory
The World Cup will take place in Bangladesh, where slower conditions than the typical Australian pitch are expected.
But the men’s side showed such things can be overcome in India, while it’s worth remembering that the Aussies also won the women’s T20 World Cup in Bangladesh the last time it was held there in 2014.
On this day in 2014, @AusWomenCricket won the T20 World Cup for the third time in a row 🎩 pic.twitter.com/2w5dYXgpzv
— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) April 6, 2021
They topped Group A courtesy of a better run rate than South Africa and New Zealand, before downing the West Indies in the semi-finals – Elyse Villani leading the way with 35 runs off 32 balls.
That set up a final against England, but predictions of a close game were quickly swept aside as the Aussie skittled their opponents for just 105 in Mirpur. They made light work of the run chase too, requiring just 15.1 overs – Lanning top-scoring with 44.
Will lightning strike twice in 2024?
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