What is Highest First Partnership? Highest First Partnership Explained in 2 minutes
Mike Goodpaster Last Verified
31/03/2021
What is a Highest First Partnership?
The highest first partnership simply refers to which of the two teams playing a game of cricket will score the most runs before losing their first wicket. In T20 or One Day International cricket, this means the first wicket to be taken, whilst in Test cricket it refers to the first wicket to fall in the first innings.
How is the Highest First Partnership Used in Sports Betting?
Betting on the highest first partnership is one of the simplest cricket bets outside of merely betting on the outcome of the match, and as such is well-suited to anyone who is fairly new to sports betting. In the majority of cases, a bookmaker will simply offer odds on each team scoring the highest first partnership. An example would be as follows:
England are playing India in a One day International match. The bookmaker offers odds of 12/1 against England scoring the highest first partnership and 7/1 against India. A bet of £10 placed on India will result in winnings of £80 and a profit of £70 if India go on to register the highest first partnership score. If England achieves the highest first partnership then the stake will be lost. Most bookmakers offer only this option, and in the event of the score being drawn, all bets will be void and the stake will be returned. It’s vital to enquire what will happen in the event of a tie before placing a bet.
Betting on the highest first partnership is also available as a form of in-play betting, which means that the bets are placed after the match has started. Clearly if, in this example, England bat first and score a first partnership total of just 20, it becomes highly likely that India will go on to beat this and score the highest first partnership. A bet on India would therefore be a safer bet, but would result in smaller winnings as the bookmaker would adjust the odds accordingly.
