England go with pragmatism over consistency

England selection announcements have been rather predictable in recent years, but the squad today announced for the tour of India was eagerly awaited, and did not disappoint with a number of surprises.

The omission of Kevin Pietersen grabbed the headlines, but in reality it appears that the issues between Pietersen, his England teammates and the team management are some distance from being resolved. It is believed that some members of the team are opposed to his potential return, and it has also been reported that Pietersen himself still feels that he has been treated unfairly. Perhaps the issue would be solved most easily were the ball to be put firmly in Pietersen’s court - allow him to apologise properly to everybody, including the fans, and drop his supposed demands for an investigation into the alleged involvement of England players in a parody Twitter account, before kissing and making up.

The selection of an opener to replace the retired Andrew Strauss must have been a close call, and in the end it has been decided to take both young Yorkshire opener Joe Root and Somerset’s Nick Compton.

Root is an impressive character, and clearly an extremely talented cricketer. But there must be a worry that this is a year too early for him. 2012 was the first season in which he has been a heavy scorer for his county, and his runs came in Division Two of the Championship. It could be argued that, in the absence of both Strauss and Pietersen, England need to find a Michael Hussey instead  - a batsman who can come into international cricket late, but hit the ground running straight away. Compton, who, after struggling to live up to the family name early in his career has been the best England-available batsman in Division One for the last two seasons, would be the prime candidate to offer that. Michael Carberry, who played a Test in Bangladesh in 2010, can count himself unlucky to have missed out, but in the end simply didn’t bang the door down enough this season. Root and Compton will surely both get opportunities in the warm-up matches, and it might eventually be those that determine who walks out with Alastair Cook at Ahmedabad.

The middle order places are also intriguing. Eoin Morgan has struggled for runs in first-class cricket, and did nothing of note in the small number of Championship games he played for Middlesex this year. However, England like what they see in one-day cricket and he is the closest they can get to an X-Factor player who can turn a game on its head in the absence of Pietersen. Although the tour of the UAE early this year would suggest the contrary, Morgan has a game which should be well suited to Asian conditions. He hits spin well and plays off the front foot. There may, however, still be questions about how he’ll cope defensively against Ravichandran Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha.

The inclusion of Morgan would appear to have come at the expense of two men who featured in the Test series against South Africa.

Ravi Bopara’s form crisis has been well documented, but he’s played only one Test in 2012, and, having been earmarked for a place this year before injury and then personal issues struck, is arguably due a proper shot at the five-day game. Nevertheless, in his current state of mind it would be a major risk to take him in a squad devoid of senior batsmen.

James Taylor can arguably count himself more hard done by. The Nottinghamshire batsman has long been earmarked as a future Test star and didn’t disgrace himself on debut at Headingley, where his supporting innings of 34 was praised. His omission flies in the face of England’s much vaunted consistency of selection, but perhaps he has been an unlucky victim of KP-gate and the retirement of Strauss - with Jonny Bairstow demanding a place, and Root picked at the top of the order, England have two young batsmen in the squad and a third would perhaps be a risk too far.

Geoff Miller and his fellow selectors are right to pick five seamers and three spinners. Its hard to argue with the five pace options on the plane, whilst it is a relief to see that rumours of Monty Panesar’s exclusion have proved unfounded. But the selection of Samit Patel is baffling. Patel failed to register a Championship hundred this summer, took only 14 wickets at 38 and is hardly Jonty Rhodes in the field. Yet it would appear that England still fancy him at number seven to supposedly balance the side in Asian conditions - a role he failed to fulfill satisfactorily in Sri Lanka. Leaving out Patel would have opened up a place for James Tredwell, who never disappoints for England, and could have come in handy should Swann have to pull out injured before a match where England want to play two spinners.

Looking forward to the series itself, India will start as favourites but the visitors should not be written off. England proved themselves to be a vastly superior side in England last summer and, whilst the sub-continent presents a different set of challenges, the turnaround should not be as stark as to make India nailed on victors. The first line of attack should be with the quick men - with the possible exception of an occasional pitch offering excessive turn Anderson, Broad and Finn should all play as India’s batsmen play spin exceptionally well. If the bowlers do their job, as they did last winter, then a lot will depend on the batsmen. The line-up is arguably the most inexperienced taken on tour since the visit to South Africa at the turn of the century. Nevertheless, India can be a good place to start for inexperienced batsmen and in Cook, Trott, Bell and not forgetting Matt Prior, we still have four of the best in the world.

ICC World Twenty20 Preview: Part 3 - Groups C and D

After the most sensational summer of sport one could possibly imagine, its finally cricket’s turn to step in to the global spotlight. The ICC World Twenty20 is back for its fourth edition - the third at which the women will be involved as well as the men - and it promises to offer two and a half weeks of fantastic cricket, and most importantly plenty of fun. In this third and final preview article I analyse the prospects of the teams that make up Groups C and D of the men’s tournament - Sri Lanka, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Pakistan, New Zealand and Bangladesh.

GROUP C

SRI LANKA 

World Ranking: 3
Captain: Mahela Jayawardene

Home advantage could be a major factor in boosting Sri Lanka’s chances of challenging. The batting line-up likes home comforts, and it would be a major surprise if the big three of Tillekaratne Dilshan, captain Mahela Jayawardene and wicket-keeper Kumar Sangakkara did not all have excellent tournaments. Questions remain about the rest of the batting, although Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal are both undoubtedly talented.

However, the main area of concern will be the bowling attack. Lasith Malinga is the best death bowler in the world in this form of the game, but the rest of the seamers offer nothing special, and, unusually for Sri Lanka, even the spin cupboard is a little bare. Rangana Herath is the most experienced of the spin trio, which also includes 18 year-old Akila Dananjaya, who hadn’t played a single professional game until last month’s Sri Lanka Premier League, and wasn’t picked for the recent Under 19 World Cup in Australia. The team have a good chance of going far but, like India, are more likely to do so off the back of big totals than devastating bowling.

Key Man: Mahela Jayawardene. Sri Lanka appear to have steadied since Jayawardene was reinstated as captain over the winter, and with his return to the helm he has also found some much needed batting form. In Twenty20 he is an underrated player - when big shots are added to his natural poise and timing he is a devastating prospect for opposition bowlers.

Prediction: Runners-Up

SOUTH AFRICA

World Ranking: 2
Captain: AB de Villiers

As their ranking suggests South Africa are a fine outfit in all formats. However, they won’t go into this tournament as one of the most fancied sides. The batting line-up appears to be carrying a couple of passengers - Faf du Plessis and Justin Ontong in particular - and, as with England, the playing of spin in Asian conditions may be an area of concern. Nevertheless, Jacques Kallis and Hashim Amla have demonstrated an ability to adapt to Twenty20 and AB de Villiers is one of the finest short-form players in the world.

There is also, of course, real strength in bowling. Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel pose a major threat to the world’s batting line-ups, and Johan Botha is criminally under-rated as an off-spinner. They do lack a third seamer in these conditions though - is Albie Morkel good enough or should Tsotsobe play? And on flat pitches Steyn and Morkel could easily be tonked if they err slightly in line because of the extra pace they put on the ball.

Key Man: AB de Villiers. De Villiers’s tour of England was uncharacteristically unspectacular - he got starts most times he walked to the wicket, but it was ultimately others who grabbed the headlines. In this tournament, however, its likely that he’ll have to be the headline maker if South Africa are to stand a chance. He is regarded as the best all-round batsmen in the world, and, if he comes off, its sure to be to devastating effect.

Prediction: Super Eight

ZIMBABWE

World Ranking: 11
Captain: Brendan Taylor

Having played very little international cricket of late Zimbabwe come into the World Twenty20 as something of an unknown quantity. Their main strength is likely to be their restrictive spin bowlers - veteran Ray Price, Prosper Utseya and Graeme Cremer. The team have sometimes used 16 or more overs of spin in Twenty20 matches, and those tactics might just be the best way to spring a surprise, particularly on South Africa. They have, however, also discovered some seam bowling talent in the last year or so in the form of Brian Vitori and the improving Chris Mpofu.

The batting line-up would seem over-reliant on one man, captain Brendan Taylor. Still only 26, Taylor has a strike rate of more than 120 in the shortest form of the game, and has four half-centuries. 

Zimbabwe are in a tough group and any hope of getting out of it is likely to be based on the success they enjoyed at home in an unofficial tournament featuring a South African XI and Bangladesh. But a global tournament is a completely different kettle of fish.

Key Man: Ray Price. He seems to have been around for ever but Ray Price is only 36. The former Warwickshire batsman goes at only just over six runs an over and is likely to be called upon with the new ball and at the death. 

Prediction: Group Stage

GROUP D

PAKISTAN

World Ranking: 6
Captain: Mohammad Hafeez

Pakistan should never be written off in major tournaments but their shot at success here is likely to be based almost entirely on their irresistible spin attack. Saeed Ajmal has been tormenting batsmen the world over for the last two years, and will again be a major threat. Meanwhile, Shahid Afridi likes to turn it on on the biggest stage, and captain Mohammad Hafeez has turned himself into one of the best in the world at bowling spin with the new ball. England are sure to have breathed a sigh of relief when Abdur Rehman was strangely omitted, preventing Pakistan from throwing an attack of Ajmal, Afridi, Hafeez, Rehman and Umar Gul at them.

However, the batting is a major worry. They have a mix of those that struggle to score quickly - Hafeez, Asad Shafiq, Shaoib Malik - and those that are often far too reckless - the Akmal brothers, Afridi. Therefore, its hard to see how they win without spin being a major factor. 

Key Man: Saeed Ajmal. Whether he’s in the running for the ICC Cricketer of the Year or not, Ajmal is clearly the world’s best spinner. Combining an accurate line with wicket-taking variations, it would be a huge surprise if he isn’t one of the bowlers of the tournament.

Prediction: Semi-Finalists

NEW ZEALAND

World Ranking: 5
Captain: Ross Taylor

Despite their recent win against tournament favourites India, New Zealand are perhaps the most vulnerable of all the major nations in the initial group stage. 

Their batting is furnished with destructive players (Brendan McCullum and Ross Taylor), but for the most-part they struggle at international level, and in particular in Asia. McCullum scored 91 against India and the team still didn’t manage 170. A reliance on a few wouldn’t be a problem if McCullum and Taylor are reliable. But they’re not. For players who have now been playing international cricket for a number of years my impression is that they are far too inconsistent. 

And its not as if the bowling will bail them out. Tim Southee has become a decent bet in one-day cricket and is well suited to Asian conditions with his skiddy action, but Kyle Mills and Jacob Oram look spent forces, and you’ve got to question whether youngsters like Adam Milne, whose gone at almost 12 an over in his 3 matches to date, are ready for Twenty20 Internationals. Daniel Vettori was formerly a linchpin, but for whatever reason has struggled of late. One theory is that the responsibility he has burdened for so many years is finally starting to effect his bowling.

Key Man: Ross Taylor. Taylor is an extremely dangerous one-day batsman as he has shown on a number of occasions. But New Zealand need more from him if they’re to make an impression in Sri Lanka.

Prediction: Group Stage

BANGLADESH

World Ranking: 8
Captain: Mushfiqur Rahim

On the evidence of this year’s Asia Cup, in which they reached the final and competed well in every match, Bangladesh’s long awaited improvement may finally have arrived. Off the back of the Bangladesh Premier League a team which were thrust together when barely out of school are finally starting to mature. Captain Mushfiqur Rahim, who is just 23 but has played international cricket since 2005, has been an important part of that process, as has the talismanic Shakib-al-Hasan.

Shakib will be the main batsmen and the main bowler, but he does now have a wider range of support acts than at one stage. Tamim Iqbal, who has showed signs of a return to the form that saw him score a century in the 2010 Lord’s Test, will open the batting, whilst Abdur Razzak and Elias Sunny provide support in the spin department. Seam bowling may still be an issue - Shafiul Islam and Mashrafe bin Mortaza tend to blow hot and cold.

Overall, Bangladesh have a real chance to go well in this tournament. But if they don’t they’ll have questions to answer.

Key Man: Shakib-al-Hasan. Shakib is probably the best Twenty20 all-rounder in the world. He is Bangladesh’s leading player in both disciplines, and by all standards has a fantastic record. His left-arm spin in particular is likely to cause difficulties to Bangladesh’s group rivals.

Prediction: Super Eight

ICC World Twenty20 Preview: Part 2 - Groups A and B

After the most sensational summer of sport one could possibly imagine, its finally cricket’s turn to step in to the global spotlight. The ICC World Twenty20 is back for its fourth edition - the third at which the women will be involved as well as the men - and it promises to offer two and a half weeks of fantastic cricket, and most importantly plenty of fun. In this second of three preview articles I analyse the prospects of the teams that make up Groups A and B of the men’s tournament - England, India, Afghanistan, Australia, West Indies and Ireland.

GROUP A

ENGLAND 

World Ranking: 1
Captain: Stuart Broad

England won this tournament two years ago, and for the most part have remained a force in the intervening years. However, as the tournament approaches it is difficult to retain confidence in the team. Kevin Pietersen is a major loss, and they have historically struggled to make an impact in sub-continental conditions. But that is not to say that all is lost. Four of the top six from 2010 are in the squad, and to that we can add the in-form Jonny Bairstow and Alex Hales, who made 99 against the West Indies in June. 

Nevertheless, the strength is in the seam bowling department which, along with South Africa, is the strongest in the tournament - you must be good to leave James Anderson out. Stuart Broad and Steven Finn will look to work over Asian and West Indian batsmen who struggle against aggressive quick bowling, whilst Jade Dernbach will be critical at the death. Graeme Swann also has an important role to play - his form has dipped of late, but after a short rest the team need him to be at his best, particularly if the pitches take the amount of turn that is anticipated.

Key Man: Eoin Morgan. In the absence of Pietersen, Morgan is undoubtedly England’s leading Twenty20 batsman. He shouldn’t have a problem with playing in Sri Lanka, and has come into some superb form in recent months. 

Prediction: Semi-finalists

INDIA

World Ranking: 7
Captain: MS Dhoni

Despite a mixed record in Twenty20 cricket, India will rightly start as favourites to win the competition. The main reason for this is their batting - Virender Sehwag remains one of the most dangerous openers around, Virat Kohli is fast becoming one of the leading batsmen in the world, and MS Dhoni is the best finisher around. When you add Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina and the returning Yuvraj Singh to this group it is easy to see why scores of 200 should almost always be within their reach.

However, the stardom in their batting line-up contrasts to a mediocre looking bowling attack, which didn’t cost them the 2011 World Cup but must have an effect at some point - it certainly means that whilst an England or South Africa can feel confident in defending a par score, they will always have to look higher. Irfan Pathan has found some form, and Zaheer Khan is fit again. But Ravichandran Ashwin will be the most important bowler - his subtle variations have the potential to flummox sides who are uncomfortable against slow bowling, and I’d expect him to be used with the new ball on most occasions. 

Key Man: MS Dhoni. There is quite simply no better finisher in the world game - get down to the last few overs with him at the crease and you know what’s coming. He’ll also have the important job of working out how to juggle an average bowling line-up, and is one of the best ‘keepers standing up to the stumps in the tournament.

Prediction: Winners

AFGHANISTAN

World Ranking: Currently unranked because of having played fewer than eight matches since August 2010
Captain: Nawroz Mangal

The Afghanistan story is an incredible one. They went from lowly ranked no-hopers to the 2010 World Twenty20 in little more than a year, and since then have improved further. However, the format for this tournament is unforgiving, making it difficult to see how they can advance to the Super Eights.

Although they suffer from a lack of depth, they do have three players in their ranks who would come close to a place in just about any international side. Wicket-keeper Mohammad Shahzad averages 56 in first-class cricket, and packs a punch in Twenty20 too, where he has six international 50s. Meanwhile, in Hamid Hassan and Dawlat Zadran they have arguably the best new ball pair amongst the Asian teams. Its likely that scoring runs will be the major challenge - if they do, then who knows what can happen?

Key Man: Dawlat Zadran. Demonstrated fantastic use of pace, variation and swing in the World Twenty20 Qualifier and a recent ODI against Pakistan. Could just be the find of the tournament if he comes good. 

Prediction: Group Stage

GROUP B

AUSTRALIA

World Ranking: 9
Captain: George Bailey

Much was made of Australia slipping to 9th in the Twenty20 World Rankings, and whilst that might not be a fair reflection of the teams abilities it does reflect their poor results, and the fact that they’ve got a number of issues in this format.

Foremost amongst these is the captain. Chief selector John Inverarity appointed George Bailey on the basis of his domestic captaincy record, but its difficult to see how he gets into Australia’s best XI in this form of the game. A number of other selections are also confusing. Ryan Harris, arguably Australia’s best seam bowler, has been left out and the main spinner is a 41 year-old who thought he’d retired from international cricket four years ago. Brag Hogg may yet prove to be an inspired selection, but whatever happens spin is unlikely to be a strength.

The batting, however, certainly has the capacity to succeed. Shane Watson and David Warner are one of the more dangerous opening pairs around, although they can expect to face spin up front more often than not. Meanwhile, the Hussey brothers remain dangerous Twenty20 players and Glenn Maxwell has been brought into the side after a hot run of form, and could prove a shrewd pick. 

Key Man: Mike Hussey. Mr. Cricket is in the twilight of his career, but Australia will be relying on him to make a big contribution to their run-making. He is likely to bat at three, and so will have the tough job of scoring at a good rate whilst not getting himself out.

Prediction: Super Eight

WEST INDIES

World Ranking: 4
Captain: Darren Sammy

Somewhat surprisingly the same West Indies team that were roundly beaten by England in all formats a couple of months ago are now being touted in some quarters as potential title challengers. With a look down the names on their team sheet it is easy to see why: Chris Gayle is consistently the most devastating Twenty20 batsmen in the world, Kieron Pollard hits the ball further than anybody, and nobody has yet mastered Sunil Narine in helpful conditions. The team as a whole has also undergone considerable improvements since Darren Sammy took over the captaincy.

However, consistency is required to win a tournament like this and the team are yet to produce the performances which suggest they can do that. You also feel that all-rounders like Pollard, Dwayne Bravo and Dwayne Smith can be worked out by top notch international bowlers, the likes of which are few and far between at the IPL and other Twenty20 jamborees. That was certainly the case in England this summer, when Pollard was targeted with the short ball and Bravo and Smith also struggled for runs. 

Key Man: Chris Gayle. Since his en-passé with the West Indies Cricket Broad, Gayle has turned himself into indisputably the most consistent Twenty20 bludgeoner. It would be a major surprise if he didn’t score a century in the tournament, and when he does, West Indies will be well on course to winning games.

Prediction: Super Eight

IRELAND

World Ranking: 10
Captain: William Porterfield

Ireland have been standard bearers for Associate cricket over a number of years now, to the point where they will now feel they’ve underperformed if they don’t pull off upsets. On paper they should have a chance. Paul Stirling and Kevin O’Brien are potentially as destructive as just about anyone in the world, whilst Ed Joyce and William Porterfield add the glue to the batting line-up. They also have George Dockrell in their ranks. The 20 year-old left-arm spinner has already been to two global tournaments before this one, and has become a critical cog in Somerset’s Championship side. On the pitches in Sri Lanka he’ll be vital to the team’s success.

The main area of doubt will be in the seam bowling department. Trent Johnston is not the force he was a few years ago, and Boyd Rankin prefers the longer formats of the game. Therefore, a lot will rest on Tim Murtagh, the Middlesex new ball bowler who only started playing for Ireland this summer. Ireland will also be concerned that the weather has denied them a lot of vital match practice this summer, and that when they have got on the field the team has never really got going. But they should never be written off, and Australia and West Indies will both have to take their matches against Ireland extremely seriously.

Key Man: George Dockrell. Dockrell has the potential to be a fine international bowler and has already put in some excellent displays in global tournaments. With two years more county experience since the 2011 World Cup, Ireland will hope that he can consistently offer a threat to the better batsmen in world cricket. 

Prediction: Group Stage

ICC World Twenty20 Preview - Part 1: Women's tournament

After the most sensational summer of sport one could possibly imagine, its finally cricket’s turn to step in to the global spotlight. The ICC World Twenty20 is back for its fourth edition - the third at which the women will be involved as well as the men - and it promises to offer two and a half weeks of fantastic cricket, and most importantly plenty of fun. In this first of three preview articles I look ahead to the women’s tournament, which might just offer yet more English success in the Indian summer of 2012.

Holding the women’s tournament at the same time as the men’s is a fantastic way of promoting the ladies game. As well as reducing the costs of running the event, it allows a captive media and television audience to enjoy a fast improving branch of the game, and therefore for the exceptionally talented players to take their places in the spotlight. The semi-finals and finals take place before their male equivalents, using a formula used to some success for women’s international matches in England, Australia and New Zealand. Unlike the men’s tournament there are only eight teams participating and so go straight into two groups of four and then onwards to the knock-out stages. England are joined by Australia, India and Pakistan in Group A, with New Zealand, West Indies, South Africa and hosts Sri Lanka making up Group B.

The favourites

England will undoubtedly go into this event as heavy favourites. Charlotte Edwards’s team have won their last eighteen completed fixtures and, on the evidence of this summer, are as far ahead of the field as Sarah Storey was for Great Britain in the Paralympic cycling (a long way for those that weren’t watching!). 

The team benefit from fantastic levels of funding from the ECB these days, and all of the players are now near enough professional cricketers. Like the men’s setup they have an extensive coaching team - Mark Lane plays Andy Flower and Cookie Patel fills Richard Halsall’s role - and it is clear that as a result of these factors they are comfortably the best drilled unit. Edwards herself has been a fantastic batter for a number of years as well as an inspiration to the team, whilst Laura Marsh and Sarah Taylor are comfortable with scoring at a good rate - something which some of England’s opponents have struggled with. Katherine Brunt and Anya Shrubsole form the most fearsome new ball pair in the women’s game, although with this tournament being staged on the traditionally spin-friendly ground in Galle, it is very likely that one of Marsh, Holly Colvin or Danielle Wyatt will bowl spin with the new nut. 

And if you thought that was all bases covered its not. Lydia Greenway is perhaps the one fielder in the world - male or female - to keep an eye on over the coming weeks; some of her work in the outfield during the recent matches against India would have been impressive from any male cricketer. And Sarah Taylor is not only fast becoming the world’s best batter but is the women’s games best ‘keeper too.

Overall, England would appear champions elect already. But they messed up in the last World Twenty20 - going out in the group stage after a loss to West Indies - and will know that in this form of the game anything can happen. They’ll also need to be wary of how they go in Asian conditions - the make up of their team suggests that they shouldn’t be a problem, but its true that many of the last eighteen wins have come in England, Australia and New Zealand.

The pretenders

After beating New Zealand 4-0 in a home series earlier this year, its Australia that will lead the chasing pack. Included in their ranks are Ellyse Perry, who has also played international football, and is a very useful right-arm seam bowler. Other players to watch out for include Lisa Sthalekar, an experienced off-spinning all-rounder who played a key part in her team’s 2010 success and Alyssa Healy, niece of fellow wicket-keeper Ian, who scored 90 in a recent Twenty20 International against India in Asian conditions. All being well they would expect to make the final, and they’ll be telling themselves that anything can happen after that.

New Zealand are a team in decline but can still expect to put up a decent showing in this event, and would certainly expect to win Group B. Captain Suzie Bates, who hit 168 in a Super Six match at the 2009 World Cup aged just 22 and represented New Zealand in Basketball at the Beijing Olympics, remains one of the stars of the women’s game and if she really gets going could prompt an upset in the semi-finals. However, a number of retirements have weakened the team overall, putting a lot of pressure on Bates, wicket-keeper Sara McGlashan (brother of one time Black Cap Peter) and the experienced all-rounder Amy Satterthwaite.

Shane Warne once said that Monty Panesar hadn’t played 30 Tests; instead he’d played the same Test 30 times. And that can also be said of India’s Women’s Twenty20 team. In the form of Mithali Raj, who with a superb technique would appreciate less focus on the shortest form of the game, and tall fast bowler Jhulan Goswami they have two of the leading lights of the women’s game. But as a team they constantly post under-par totals in the 110 region, and lack the depth of bowling to make a sustained impact against the best teams. Any hope for this tournament is therefore likely to rest on being the most at home in Asian conditions among the top five. Whether that will be enough to take home the trophy is highly doubtful.

West Indies surpassed all expectations in reaching the semi-finals of their home World Twenty20 two years ago. Unlike India they like to play their shots, but, on the evidence of their ongoing series in England that is unlikely to get them out of trouble. They will expect to get out of the easier Group B though, and with Stefanie Taylor, the 21 year-old batting all-rounder who has been nominated for the ICC’s Cricketer of the Year in their ranks, will have hopes of perhaps beating the Kiwis. They are a young side, with most of the squad in their late teens and early twenties, but despite their shock victory over England in 2010, it is hard to see them reaching the final this time round. 

The outsiders

Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka are perennial outsiders in the women’s game, largely because of a lack of funding from their respective boards. Given the health of South Africa’s men’s team it is probably most disappointing to see that they have failed to make any impact at all on the ladies game. Recent defeats to Bangladesh, who failed to qualify, suggest that an immediate improvement is beyond them. Meanwhile, Pakistan were roundly beaten by England in two recent matches, and also lost to both England’s Academy and Under-19 sides on the tour. Sri Lanka can at least claim home advantage in their favour but a win over South Africa must be their only realistic target. 

Overall, it would be foolish to put money on anybody other than Charlotte Edwards’s England girls. But Twenty20 is a funny old game and an upset shouldn’t be ruled out. Whatever happens the tournament is sure to continue the promotion of the women’s game, and holding it in Sri Lanka, a country without a tradition in women’s cricket, could be what is needed to accelerate the global growth of a form of the game which allows female cricketers to demonstrate how good they now really are.