Opening partnership betting is betting on the runs a team's two opening batters add together before the first wicket falls. It comes as an over or under line on one team's stand, or as a head to head on which team's opening stand is bigger. A partnership counts every run the team adds while the pair is together, extras included, so it can be bigger than the two batters' scores added up.
How opening partnership bets settle
An opening stand runs bet sets a line, such as 27.5, on one team's stand in a named innings. With illustrative prices of $1.87 each way, $25 on the under returns 25 x 1.87 = $46.75 if the stand ends at 27 or fewer, and the over wins from 28 up. If no wicket falls at all, the three rule types set out for fall of first wicket markets can apply: the innings total counts, the bet is void, or it stands only if already decided.
In a Test, check whether the market covers the first innings or the match; Test cricket betting covers the other first-innings markets.
Highest opening partnership between the teams
Example: Team A at $1.85 and Team B at $1.95 for the bigger opening stand in a T20. The implied chances are 1 / 1.85 = 54.054% and 1 / 1.95 = 51.282%, a 105.34% market. Illustrative prices, not a real match.
| Result | $40 on Team A returns | Profit or loss |
|---|---|---|
| Team A's stand is bigger | $74.00 | +$34.00 |
| Level stands, no tie price (NSW clause 5.1.8) | $74 / 2 = $37.00 | -$3.00 |
| Level stands, tie price offered (NSW clause 5.1.7) | $0.00 | -$40.00 |
The NSW Bookmaker Declared Betting Events Betting Rules, made under the Betting and Racing Act 1998 (NSW) for authorised bookmakers there, carry those general tie clauses but no opening-partnership clause, so check your bookmaker's terms for this market.
Retired hurt and reduced overs
Retiring hurt is not a dismissal: the batter may come back and, if not, is recorded as retired not out (Law 25.4.2 of the Laws of Cricket). So a market has to say whether the stand ends at the retirement or runs on to the first wicket.
Example: Team A's openers reach 38 when one retires hurt, the number 3 joins, and the first wicket falls at 61. Team B's opening stand was 50. Illustrative scores.
| Rule type | Team A's opening stand | Highest opening partnership |
|---|---|---|
| The stand ends at the retirement | 38 | Team B wins |
| The stand runs on to the first wicket | 61 | Team A wins |
| Bets are void on a retirement | None | Refunded |
Rain raises a different problem: if one innings is cut, the two stands are measured over different overs. Rule types include settling on the stands as played if the match has an official result, voiding the bet if either innings is reduced after it was placed, or settling only bets already decided. If rain then stops the match short of its minimum overs, the NSW rules refund any stand bet still open (clause 5.2.2.3(a)), as no result explains. Cricket total runs betting covers reduced overs for innings lines.
Comparing prices on opening stand markets
Match the retirement and rain rules before you compare an opening stand price. The Terminal's sports board puts bookmakers side by side on head to head, line and total markets and on player props where offered; for a market it does not show, compare your own accounts. Board prices are as at the time displayed, so confirm them with your bookmaker. A free account opens a limited view of the Terminal with live odds, and the cricket betting guide sets out how the other cricket markets settle.
Risk: Betting involves risk. A retirement or a rain cut can change how an opening stand bet settles, whatever the batters do. See responsible gambling for limits and support.