Cricket World Cup Top Bowler Odds: Zampa, Rauf Heavily Favored

The T20 World Cup has advanced to its last three matches for the 2021 edition from the UAE, a tournament that has been dominated by bowlers like no other. Has that impacted the Cricket World Cup top bowler odds for some countries? Of course it has and so we take one final look at the top bowler markets for the 2021 T20 World Cup below.

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According to Sportsbook’s odds, Adam Zampa is the favorite in the Cricket World Cup top bowler odds for Australia, Haris Rauf for Pakistan and Adil Rashid for England.

T20 World Cup 2021 Top Australia Bowler

Odds as of November 9 at Sportsbook

Pick: Josh Hazlewood (+600)

Here are the wicket tallies for the candidates to take the most wickets for Australia at this tournament. Adam Zampa, with favorable Cricket World Cup top bowler odds of -800, has taken 11 wickets in five matches, including a best of 5 for 19. Hazlewood picked up four wickets in his previous match to move his tally to eight wickets. Mitchell Starc has taken seven wickets so far at this tournament.

Now, let’s break down the rest of this tournament based on likelihood and probabilities to help bettors arrive at the most valuable players for this market. Firstly, Australia will face Pakistan in the second semifinal on Thursday. While Pakistan has been sensational at this competition, I’d expect Australia’s depth on both ends to make a difference, which could take them to the final.

If that pans out as expected, Hazlewood will have two matches to make up three wickets over Zampa, who will have the same eight overs to bowl potentially. That is a bit of a stretch, especially because if Australia loses, that difference comes down to just four overs of bowling.

Still, these Cricket World Cup top bowler odds for Hazlewood are excellent. He has an average of 13.75 and an economy rate of 6.87 at this tournament, stellar returns by any measure of comparison. Zampa is the odds-on favorite for this market but if you have some risky money to use, then Hazlewood is the best choice for this because the risk-to-reward relationship is completely worth the punt.

“The quicks have been quite difficult to score off, particularly up front in the powerplay, and guys like Maxwell are doing their job for us as well,” Zampa said. “Batters are trying to be really attacking in the middle overs, which gives me a chance to take wickets. I feel like guys are coming even harder throughout the middle, so a lot of wicket-taking opportunities. The conversation has really been a lot about matchups.”

T20 World Cup 2021 Top Pakistan Bowler

Odds as of November 9 at Sportsbook

Pick: Haris Rauf (-200)

This market might come down to simple probability. The volatility of outright betting means there are more factors to consider than just skill or likelihood. Sure, Shaheen Afridi is arguably Pakistan’s best bowler, with the repertoire to take a five-wicket haul against any opponent, but Haris Rauf has a fairly significant lead in the wicket-taking charts.

Considering Pakistan’s match is against Australia, this could be their last in the tournament. Even if it is not, then Haris Rauf is not a slouch in the death overs. Presently, Rauf has taken eight wickets while Afridi has picked up six wickets.

Here is what that signifies from a likelihood standpoint: if Afridi does not pick up two wickets against Australia and Pakistan loses, then Rauf wins this market regardless of his returns. If Rauf picks up two more wickets in this tournament (in one match or two), then Afridi would have to take five wickets to outright win this market.

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Against two of the better teams in this competition, that seems like an enviable task, even for Afridi’s skill. Afridi is no pushover, with his recent form and skill at this event. He bowled beautifully against India, swinging the ball both ways in an era where swing has become almost non-existent. He currently has an average of 22.33 and an economy rate of 6.70.

“Shaheen did bowl very well with the new ball,” Virat Kohli said after Pakistan’s match against India. “I think he hit the right areas to pick up wickets, and in T20 cricket you need good execution to pick up wickets with the new ball, and certainly he did that, so credit to him.”

Therefore, this market comes down to chance and mathematics instead of skill. If you’re considering the data, then Rauf is the best choice for this market, even with favorable Cricket World Cup top bowler odds of -200. He has an average of 17 and an economy rate of 6.80, with a best of 4 for 22 so far at this competition. He has a clever slower ball and a mean yorker, facets of his armory that could help him win this market on his own rather than rely on Afridi’s ineffectiveness. 

T20 World Cup 2021 Top England Bowler

Odds as of November 9 at Sportsbook

Pick: Adil Rashid (-167)

This England team has a unique method of deploying their bowlers, under captain Eoin Morgan. He is a captain who almost always prefers to not just have, but use at least six bowling options. That results in several bowlers not bowling their entire quota of four overs.

That is true for the majority of matches, with the exception of Adil Rashid. Morgan prefers to use Rashid right through the middle overs, and bowls him out fairly frequently unless he has been taken for many runs, in which case he returns to other matchup bowlers.

In a tough group, Rashid has been in exceptional form, taking eight wickets at an average of 13.37, an economy rate of 5.83, and a strike rate of 13.7 (which means he takes just over two overs to pick up a wicket). That economy rate usually is reliable for Morgan and results in him depending on Rashid from one end through the middle overs.

Here is where some skills will come in for this decision. Matchups are a big part of Morgan’s captaincy. An example of a favorable matchup for a right-handed batsman would be to face a right-arm offspinner because the direction of spin is into their hitting arc. On the contrary, a favorable bowling matchup is a right-handed legspinner taking the bowler away from the right-handed batsman because the ease of hitting through the off side is significantly higher than through the leg side.

Moeen Ali is a right-handed off-break bowler. New Zealand, England’s next opponent in the semis, is packed with right-handed batsmen. Rashid is a legspin bowler taking the ball away from New Zealand’s right-handers. This should result in Moeen having only a few overs to bowl, at most, and Rashid almost certainly getting his entire quota of four overs.

That is also why Cricket World Cup top bowler odds of -167 for Rashid are fantastic and probably not worth a punt on any other bowler from England for the rest of this tournament. Rashid has also done extremely well to not let off-field events at his home county Yorkshire impact his performances during the course of this tournament. Surely, those events need immediate attention and can get to a player but Rashid’s balance has been faultless.

“Adil is one of our players that, in the normal scheme of things, doesn’t require a lot of support,” England captain Eoin Morgan said of Rashid and the situation around Azeem Rafiq. “Given what’s happened so close to home for him, I think it’s great that he does have a great support network around him. The team is here, his family is here, which is fantastic but there is no indication at the moment that anything out of the ordinary is happening. But he’s traveling OK at the moment. I’m not concerned at all.”

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This will be Odds Shark’s final update to the Cricket World Cup top bowler odds for this tournament considering the T20 competition is nearly done. So, if you like a player at the current odds, take the opportunity to place your bets immediately.