Cricket World Cup final: TAB tipping Black Caps and England game could be biggest event of year

These high-spirited Kiwi supporters at Manchester show us how to get behind the Black Caps tonight. Photo / Photosport

One punter stands to collect $72,000 if the Black Caps win the Cricket World Cup final.

Thousands of Kiwis are backing the Black Caps, and the TAB says the Cricket World Cup final will attract more money in bets than any other event so far this year.

For the semifinal against India, the TAB took in $1.4 million worth of bets, "the largest turnover from a single event this year", spokesman Mark Stafford said.

About $600,000 was paid out to those who backed the Kiwis then, and Stafford predicted tonight would be even bigger.

"We are expecting at least the same amount of bets as the semifinal, and are thinking if the Black Caps take it away, we could be looking at paying out about $1m."

And one Kiwi punter stands to walk away with a cool $72,000 if the Black Caps beat hosts England, after placing a six-to-one bet before the semifinals.

Another punter put down $2000 on New Zealand glory when the odds were eight to one.

Bets came flooding in after New Zealand's shock semifinal win over India.

On Thursday, about 5000 people had backed the Black Caps to win the World Cup final, and although those numbers had not changed substantially by Saturday, Stafford said he expected bets to ramp up today.

"People tend to wait to see what the weather is going to do. At this stage, it looks like there could be a few showers in the middle of the match but it doesn't look like they'll be needing to leave the field.

"We expect bets to pick up through the day, and especially with it now free-to-air on Prime. When people can watch, they are more likely to bet on it."

People making game day bets also tended to back the underdogs and often in smaller amounts of $10 and $20, Stafford said.

For New Zealand and England, a victory tonight would be the first time either had lifted the World Cup.

According to the TAB, though, England are firm favourites paying out $1.30, and the Black Caps are on $3.35.