by Renee Israel
While the English national cricket team has had its hands full this season,
the various domestic cricket tournaments have been going on, including the ECB
40, which is currently known as Clydesdale Bank 40 for
sponsorship reasons.
This 40-overs a side cricket tournament just had a mid-season break and has
now resumed in earnest. The league matches continue through July and August. The
semi-finals will be held on September 1 and the finals at Lords on September 15.
Group Positions in Clydesdale Bank 40 Cricket
The Clydesdale Bank 40 cricket competition contains three groups of seven
teams each. The top team of each group, and the second best team across all
three groups, play in the semi-finals. The Netherlands and Scotland are playing
in the 2012 Clydesdale Bank 40.
The Netherlands is surprisingly at the top of Group A. The main reason for
this is that it has played 8 matches so far, whereas the other teams have played
only 5 or 6. It is doubtful if they can hold on to the top position till the end
of the league games. However, at the moment the online betting site Bet365 is
offering odds of 16 to 1 for the Netherlands winning the Clydesdale Bank 40
cricket tournament.
In Group B Surrey and Hampshire are in the lead. Both counties have played 6
matches each. Surrey is on top with 10 points and Hampshire in second place with
9 points. The other teams are practically out of the race. In Group C the
competition is between Warwickshire and Sussex, with both team tied at 8 points.
But at best only three teams from Group B and Group C will go to the semi
finals.
Online Betting for Clydesdale Bank 40 Cricket
Bet365 and other UK licensed online betting sites offer markets for the
matches in the Clydesdale Bank 40 cricket tournament. At some online betting
sites the tournament is listed as ECB 40. The markets include match winner, top
team batsman, highest opening partnership and whether a century will be scored
in the match.However, the odds for the individual matches are posted a day
before and punters will not get time to ponder over them.
Bet365 also offers odds for the outright winner of the Clydesdale Bank 40
cricket tournament. The odds for the top four contenders are as follows.
Surrey 7/2
Sussex 9/2
Warwickshire 13/2
Hampshire 7/1
