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Twenty20 comes home to England

Originally conceived as a fun way of bringing new audiences, particularly those who couldn’t watch cricket during the working day, into the game, Twenty20 has taken the sport by storm.

Tournaments such as the Indian Premier League (IPL) are now far more lucrative per match for a player than five-day Test cricket, the traditional pinnacle of the sport.

India, whose administrators were originally hostile to Twenty20 because they feared its commercial impact upon the 50-over game, won the inaugural global tournament in South Africa two years ago.

Nine members of that winning squad, which defeated arch-rivals Pakistan by five runs in a thrilling final in Johannesburg, will be coming to England.

But, in what above all other types of cricket is a game heavily weighted in favour of batsmen, India will be without master run-maker Sachin Tendulkar, who has now opted out of Twenty20 internationals.

Generally short boundaries and fielding restrictions put a premium on big-hitting batsmen and in Yuvraj Singh they have someone who struck England’s Stuart Broad for six sixes in an over in South Africa.

Tendulkar, who himself played in this year’s IPL, warned it was important that openers Yuvraj and Gautam Gambhir were refreshed after failing to find top form in the IPL.

“I think the key would be how soon they can shed the fatigue factor,” Tendulkar said.

Wicket-taking bowlers are an invaluable commodity in a game where economy rates can go out the window and India look to have a promising pace attack.

Left-armer Rudra Pratap Singh, who took 12 wickets in South Africa in 2007, will be supported this time around by Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma.

Pakistan, starved of international cricket at home after a terror attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore in March made the country a ‘no-go zone’, will fancy their chances of going one better this time around.

“I thought Australia would thrash them in the one-off T20 match in Dubai but it was the other way round and now, if Pakistan play to their potential, they can win the title,” Pakistan great Wasim Akram told AFP this month.

Australia have dominated all forms of cricket during the last decade except Twenty20 and captain Ricky Ponting is determined to improve both his and the team’s record.

“The past couple of games I’ve played have been very poor,” he said. “In the two games in South Africa I made one in each. It’s not great form going into a World Cup.”

Ponting gave Australia a scare when he sustained a hand injury during practice on Saturday.

But he is still expected to take part - which is more than England captain Andrew Strauss.

The opening batsman has opted out of the tournament because he thinks he isn’t a good enough Twenty20 player and the suspicion remains that England are more interested in the Ashes series against Australia that follows this event.

England have never won a major international one-day tournament and they will be without all-rounder Andrew Flintoff (knee), now replaced by uncapped leg-spinner Adil Rashid, while doubts persist over star batsman Kevin Pietersen (Achilles).

But the IPL and subsequent international form of Ravi Bopara has shown England that there is life beyond “Freddie” and “KP”.

Sri Lanka and New Zealand have repeatedly punched above their weight in international tournaments and could do so again during a tournament that will take place at three of English cricket’s most historic venues - Lord’s, the Oval and Trent Bridge.

And the West Indies could yet put a largely disappointing tour of England behind them in this format.

Meanwhile South Africa, who won both of their two previous Twenty20s against Australia, are desperate to add a one-day title to set alongside their achievements in winning Test series in both England and Australia during the past 12 months.

Bangladesh and Ireland, who have both enjoyed shock wins on the global stage in the past, will dream of further upsets although, with both Scotland and the Netherlands taking part, there is also the capacity for some hugely lopsided results too.

For the first time the corresponding women’s tournament will run in parallel with the main men’s event, with both finals taking place on the same day at Lord’s where, thanks in part to Twenty20, permanent floodlights are now a feature of the ground.

The tournament gets underway on June 5.

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Squads of the 12 teams taking part in the World Twenty20 championships in England from June 5-21:

Australia

Ricky Ponting (captain), Michael Clarke (vice captain), Nathan Bracken, Brad Haddin, Nathan Hauritz, Ben Hilfenhaus, James Hopes, David Hussey, Mike Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Peter Siddle, Andrew Symonds, David Warner, Shane Watson.

Coach: Tim Nielsen (AUS)

Pakistan

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Younis Khan (captain), Salman Butt, Ahmed Shahzad, Misbah-ul-Haq, Kamran Akmal, Fawad Alam, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanvir, Yasir Arafat, Rao Iftikhar, Umar Gul, Mohammad Aamir, Saeed Ajmal, Shazaib Hassan

CoachL Intikhab Alam (PAK)

South Africa

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Graeme Smith (capt), Johan Botha, Yusuf Abdulla, Mark Boucher, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Justin Ontong, Wayne Parnell, Robbie Peterson, Dale Steyn, Roelof van der Merwe.

Coach: Mickey Arthur (RSA)

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Sri Lanka

Kumar Sangakkara (capt), Muttiah Muralitharan, Sanath Jayasuriya, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene, Chamara Silva, Angelo Mathews, Ajantha Mendis, Nuwan Kulasekara, Thilan Thushara, Lasith Malinga, Isuru Udana, Farveez Maharoof, Jehan Mubarak, Indika de Saram.

Coach: Trevor Bayliss (AUS)

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Bangladesh

Mohammad Ashraful (capt), Mashrafe Mortaza, Tamim Iqbal, Junaid Siddique, Raqibul Hasan, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Naeem Islam, Abdur Razzak, Shahadat Hossain, Syed Rasel, Mohammad Mahmudullah, Rubel Hossain, Shamsur Rahman, Mohammad Mithun.

Coach: Jamie Siddons (AUS)

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India

Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan, Rohit Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar, Rudra Pratap Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Pragyan Ojha, Irfan Pathan.

Coach: Gary Kirsten (RSA)

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England

Paul Collingwood (capt), James Anderson, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Adil Rashid, James Foster, Robert Key, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Eoin Morgan, Graham Napier, Kevin Pietersen, Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann, Luke Wright.

Coach: Andy Flower (ZIM)

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New Zealand

Daniel Vettori (capt), Neil Broom, Ian Butler, Brendon Diamanti, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum, Nathan McCullum, Peter McGlashan, Kyle Mills, Iain O’Brien, Jacob Oram, Jesse Ryder, Scott Styris, Ross Taylor

Coach: Andy Moles (ENG)

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West Indies

Chris Gayle (capt), Denesh Ramdin, Lionel Baker, Sulieman Benn, David Bernard, Dwayne Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Fidel Edwards, Andre Fletcher, Xavier Marshall, Kieron Pollard, Darren Sammy, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Lendl Simmons, Jerome Taylor

Coach: John Dyson (AUS)

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Scotland

Gavin Hamilton (capt), Richie Berrington, John Blain, Kyle Coetzer, Gordon Drummond, Majid Haq, Neil McCallum, Dewald Nel, Navdeep Poonia, Glenn Rogers, Colin Smith, Jan Stander, Ryan Watson, Fraser Watts, Craig Wright

Coach: Peter Steindl (AUS)

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Netherlands

Jeroen Smits (capt), Peter Borren, Mudassar Bukhari, Tom de Grooth, Maurits Jonkman, Alexei Kervezee, Dirk Nannes, Ruud Nijman, Darron Reekers, Edgar Schiferli, Pieter Seelaar, Eric Szwarczynski, Ryan ten Doeschate, Daan van Bunge, Bas Zuiderent

Coach: Peter Drinnen (AUS)

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Ireland

William Porterfield (capt), Andre Botha, Jeremy Bray, Peter Connell, Alex Cusack, Trent Johnston, Kyle McCallan, John Mooney, Kevin O’Brien, Niall O’Brien, Boyd Rankin, Paul Stirling, Regan West, Andrew White, Gary Wilson

Coach: Phil Simmons (WIS)