Scotland’s cricket team has gradually been improving throughout the years. This month, Scotland came out on top twice against Namibia in the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2, first winning by 77 runs and then by three wickets. One of these victories even came after defeat against Nepal, who won by five wickets.

Meanwhile, and although things have been looking up against Ireland this month, New Zealand have been experiencing some bad form. In June, the black caps fell all three times to England in the Test match series, losing twice by five wickets and then by seven. Below is a look at the test season, New Zealand’s upcoming T20s and one day international (ODI) versus Scotland, at their progress versus Ireland and a discussion of betting on cricket and the popularity of cricket.

Test season under way

The cricket Test match season is well and truly under way. Sri Lanka have faced off against Bangladesh in May and came out on top. Hoping to banish this defeat from their memories, the Bangladeshis have then then headed to the West Indies, but it was not to be there either as the West Indies won first by seven wickets and then by 10.

Sri Lanka have Pakistan to look forward to and, in the Basil D’Oliveira Trophy, England will be receiving South Africa later this summer.

New Zealand vs Scotland

This month, the Kiwis have been doing battle against Ireland. The next stop is Edinburgh, Scotland, where they’ll take on the Scots in two T20s and an ODI. The Grange will host the matches, which will take place on 28, 29 and 31 July.

If you’re a fan of the Scottish side, the team’s history against New Zealand doesn’t make for happy reading, unfortunately. Scotland have lost 15 matches and drawn two since the two teams first met in 1927.

However, things have been looking up for the team as the more recent encounters between the two have been more competitive, with Scotland falling just 16 runs short of the New Zealand 172/5 total at the Super 12s of the ICC World T20 World Cup. New Zealand could feel as if they’re a different, much more powerful Scotland at the end of the month. Namibia have already felt the force.

New Zealand vs Ireland

Defeat at the hands of the English has seen New Zealand head to Ireland in no mood for showing mercy. With one game to go, the black caps have already sewn up the series, thanks to some highly dominant bowling, pinning down Ireland to 216 while the Kiwis scored 219/7 and beat the Irish by three wickets. In the mere 20 overs they bowled between them in one afternoon, Michael Bracewell and Mitchell Santner claimed 4 for 58. 

Despite making it past the 200 mark thanks to George Dockrell’s counterattacking 61-ball-74 and Mark Adair’s unbeaten 27 off 15 balls, ultimately, Ireland folded in 48 overs. This is now another team that have some serious re-strategising to do.

Betting on cricket

You might enjoy cricket as a spectator’s sport, but you may even prefer to add a little extra excitement as you follow the events out on the crease by taking part in a little wager on the sport. Placing a bet on a cricket match has never been easier, now punters can head to one of many sports betting operators online and access up-to-date odds and place bets instantly. The variety of tournaments and events in cricket makes it possible to place a wide range of bets. Here are some of the main ones:

Match bets

Match bets are the most common type of bet and also one of the most straightforward. All you have to do is decide which team you think will win or whether the match will be a draw. There are some other bets you can place, however, such as:

Completed match bets: betting on whether you think the match will be completed within a day

Innings run: betting on the number of runs scored within the first innings of a match

Tied match: betting on whether the game will end in a tie or not.

League bets

These bets are riskier, but the profit is also bigger. Here you’re betting on the outcome of the entire league. League bets you can make include:

Outright winner: betting on who will win the entire league

Best bowler: betting on who will be awarded the best bowler of the tournament.

Series bets

These are bets referring to a series of matches. A series may run up to five matches. Possible bets include:

Series winner: this is the team that wins the most matches

Series score: a bet on the overall score after the series ends.

Cricket a sport growing in popularity

Cricket has grown in popularity these past few years. It’s especially popular in England, Australia, India and New Zealand. The sport is engaging to watch, so if people aren’t playing it, they’re glued to their TV sets and following cricketing action on screen.

The 2019 World Cup boosted the popularity of the game considerably. The match between England and New Zealand was a close-fought affair that had spectators hooked. Now people can’t wait for the next encounter.

Cricket fans will be looking forward to the clash between Scotland and New Zealand towards the end of July. New Zealand may have been the victors many times, but Scotland has begun to hit its stride more recently in international cricket and will be much tougher opponents than the black hats or anyone else might have expected.