 Australia – the favourites to win Twenty20 World Cup
11th Sep 2007 20:01 IST
Agencies
England’s players have been playing the game longer than anyone else, with Twenty20 introduced first in county cricket competition in 2003, and this is reflected in the team selection. Captain Paul Collingwood would still be relishing under his first success as captain by beating India in the recent one-day series and he would be looking to Kevin Pietersen for providing fireworks with the bat.
Teams like New Zealand, Pakistan, West Indies and Sri Lanka will also look to their standout players to shine at this fast pace.
New Zealand have Jacob Oram, who hits the ball a long way, and bowls medium pacers. Pakistan have the dangerous Shahid Afridi.
The West Indies will look to Dwayne Bravo, who is strong at batting, bowling and fielding. He’s potentially enough to win a match by himself – particularly short ones. Bravo will likely need the support of batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul.
Lanka are missing off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, who injured his elbow while playing English county cricket. But they have Sanath Jayasuriya, against whom no opposing bowler will feel he can dominate in the crucial opening overs. |
