For instance when you sign up to join a betting site, you’ll get a welcome bonus simply for having chosen one site over another. At Bet365, for example, for a minimum £10 deposit when you join the site, you get a 100% bonus – up to the value of £200. So, if you put £10 in, you’ll have £20 to bet with, and if you put £40, you’ll have £80 to use on different bets.

And if you’re stuck for an idea of what to have a bet on, there’s always a great sporting event going on somewhere. This year, probably the biggest sporting event on a global scale was the Brazil 2014 FIFA World Cup. Millions of people around the world were glued to their screens for four weeks in June and July watching the highs and lows of different footballing nations and the betting possibilities seemed endless. You could bet on which teams would get through the Group stages, who would be the highest goal scorer of the tournament, which teams would score the most goals during the tournament, which would be knocked out without scoring a goal… well, you get the idea. In 2016, there’s another World Cup coming up, and though it may not reach the same giddy heights as the football World Cup in terms of media coverage and audience viewing figures, there are still plenty of betting options.

The next T20 Cricket World Cup will take place in 2016 and will be hosted by India. There are already plenty of odds available for the 2016 event, including outright winning nation. Currently the host nation is favourite to win at 2/1, with Australia priced at 6/1 and England at 12/1.

If you’re wondering how to bet on cricket, don’t worry, there’s not too much to get to grips with. Most of the betting sites like Bet365 not only give you all the odds on current and future tournaments, but have plenty of interesting news articles on developments in cricket in the intervening period between tournaments so that you can build up a bit of background knowledge before deciding which team to back.

The ICC World Twenty20 is a relatively new event. If you want to include some historical knowledge in your choice for the 2016 World Twenty20, consider the following. The first World Twenty20 was hosted by South Africa in 2007 and won by India who beat Pakistan by five runs in the final, played in Johannesburg. The second ICC World Twenty20 was hosted in England during 2009 and Pakistan beat Sri Lanka in the final at Lord’s. The winners of the third ICC World Twenty20 were England who beat Australia in the West Indies. The fourth World Twenty20 took place in Sri Lanka in 2012 and the West Indies defeated the home nation in the final. The most recent World Twenty20 was hosted by Bangladesh and saw Sri Lanka beating India.

There’s no clear winning nation when it comes to the history of the World Twenty20; probably best to get an early value bet on now and reassess your options as the tournament date gets closer.

10. Zimbabwe

Starting the list of the top 10 best cricket teams of 2014 is Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe won only one series in the year by defeating Bangladesh 2-1 in the 3-match One Day International series. But the highlight of the year for them was the test match victory against Pakistan.

9. Bangladesh

Like Zimbabwe, Bangladesh managed to pull off only one series victory in the calendar year, a 3-0 ODI whitewash of New Zealand. However, Bangladesh performed pretty well overall as they drew the test series against New Zealand and Zimbabwe and just narrowly lost the 2 match test series against Sri Lanka by 1-0.

8. NEW ZEALAND

New Zealand failed to win a single test match in the year which is why they are at number 8 in the rankings. The Kiwis won only two T20 International series, one each against England and Bangladesh. Their poor performance in Tests and ODIs has been the major factor in the deterioration of their rankings.

7. West Indies

A home series against Zimbabwe in the year helped West Indies to improve their ratings and earned them a place at number 7, above the Black Caps. The West Indies didn’t fare well on their travels as they lost the ODI and Test series against India and Australia.

6. Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka played 19 international matches this year and won 10 of them, taking their winning ratio to 52.6% for the year. The island nation played all their matches at home which helped them to maintain their consistent performance throughout the year. They also qualified for the semi-finals of the ICC Champions Trophy this year but lost to the eventual champions India.

5. Pakistan

Many will be surprised to see Pakistan in the top 5. The performance of the green shirts this year was mixed. After their dismal showing in the first half of the year, which included poor display in the Champions Trophy, the Pakistani team picked themselves up and won back to back series against West Indies and Zimbabwe. So yeah, this makes Pakistani cricket team the 5^th best in the list of ttop 10 best cricket teams of 2014.

4. Australia

The Aussies started the year with a 5-0 thumping of West Indies at home. After which they suffered heavy defeats in the test series against India and England but showed resilience in the ODI series and won 2-1 against England in their own backyard. Overall it was a good year for the Kangaroo nation.

3. England

England had a strong year in all three formats of the game. They outclassed New Zealand at home and away in both Tests and ODIs and also won 3-0 against their bitter rivals Australia in the 5-match test series held in the summer. They also hosted the Champions Trophy and were the runners-up in the 8 team tournament.

2. South Africa

The number 1 test side in the world and one of the most consistent sides in the One Day format, the South Africans are placed at 2 in the rating of the top 10 best cricket team of 2014. With a win percentage of 60%, the rainbow nation had a very successful year. They also reached the semi-finals of the ICC Champions Trophy.

1. India

India deservedly takes the number 1 spot in our top 10 best cricket teams of 2014. The Men in Blue’s triumph in the Champions Trophy held in England was their outstanding achievement this year. They also remained unbeaten in tournament. Strong outings against Australia, Zimbabwe and West Indies helped India to claim the number 1 spot in ODIs.