What is Series Cricket? Series Cricket Explained in 2 minutes
Mike Goodpaster Last Verified
26/06/2026
A series in cricket refers to a number of individual matches played between two teams. The winner of the series is team who win the most matches. Traditionally test match series consist of five tests, so it is easy to determine a winner. Of course, there is the possibility of a test match ending in a draw so a series winner is not always decided.
One Day Internationals and Twenty20 matches can also be held in a series format. A recent innovation has been to ascribe points to each match regardless of format, so all forms of the game are part of the same series and the winning nation is the one with the most points at the end of the final match of the series.
How is Series (Cricket) used in Sports Betting?
Some of the most famous cricket matches are part of traditional series – such as the Ashes, in which England and Australia compete against each other. Many of the betting markets that are offered on single test matches (and other forms of the game) are easily transferred into covering an entire series so bookmakers are able to offer even more to their customers.
Some of the most popular series betting options will be outright winner, top run scorer and top wicket taker. The skill with the last two bets in particular comes from knowing that a cricketer will be able to keep up their form over an entire series rather than just individual matches on pitches that suit their style of play.
Did you know?
When England beat Australia in the 2005 Ashes series it was the first time they had won the urn in almost 20 years. Considering that the series is played every two it is unsurprising that the odds of an England victory were fairly attractive.
They started at 5/1 but lengthened to 12/1 when Australia won the first test. But as the famous fight back went on throughout the series those odds shortened again with bookmakers offering just 4/7 after England went 2-1 up after the fourth test.
