Twenty20 World Cup Preview

The T20 World Cup begins in Sri Lanka on Tuesday with the top two teams from four groups progressing to the next round. Bangladesh, Ireland, Zimbabwe and Afghanistan are the four expected to make way but in this shortened format of the game, anything can happen.

England are 8/1 (Blue Square) to successfully defended the title they won in the West Indies. Kevin Pietersen’s absence is not ideal but the likes of Eoin Morgan and Luke Wright have the ability to score runs quickly; both enjoy a strike rate for England above 120.

With a win ratio of 68.75%, South Africa enjoy the best T20 World Cup record but have never gone beyond the semi-finals. They are a best price 11/2 (Ladbrokes).

Sri Lanka have the second best tournament record with a win rate of 66.67% and with home advantage they will prove popular at 11/2 with Stan James. 

In the player markets, Brendon McCullum is the leading run scorer in T20 international history with 1,443 runs to his name. The New Zealand player is 33/1 (BetVictor) to be the tournament’s leading batsman.

If strike rates catch your eye, Virender Sehwag is the fastest scoring player with a minimum of 10 international appearances. The Indian opener enjoys a strike rate of 152.46 closely followed by Elton Chigumbura (250/1 Stan James) of Zimbabwe.