Twenty20 / Editor / 10 September 2007 /

All you need to know about South Africa's opening encounter against the West Indies in the Twenty20 World Cup

It's time to hold on to your hats as the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship gets underway on Tuesday, with hosts South Africa entertaining the West Indies in Johannesburg.

The popularity of this form of the game has been increasing rapidly since its inception in 2003, despite being dubbed "hit and giggle" in some quarters and failing to please many cricketing purists. But there promises to be a full house at the New Wanderers and the home faithful will hope that the Proteas justify their 1.6 favouritism to clinch victory in this Group A clash over the West Indies (2.36).

However, the home side have not had the best preparation with a number of controversies marring their build up. It started with the exclusion of the man ranked by the ICC as the third best all rounder in one-day cricket, Jacques Kallis and continued when wicketkeeper Mark Boucher was reprimanded for an outburst over that decision. Opener Loots Bosman has also incurred the wrath of the South African board after he hit out at coach Mickey Arthur, while all rounder Andrew Hall announced his retirement from international cricket last week.

Much now rests on the shoulders of Graeme Smith, both as a captain and more importantly in his role as opening bat. He has scored fifties in three of his five Twenty20 internationals (excluding the two warm-up matches) and boasts an impressive average of 86.33, amassed at a strike rate of 137.76. His tally of 259 runs is the highest in international Twenty20 and his knocks of 46 and 89 not out in the weekend's warm-up matches against Sri Lanka and Australia respectively, will surely alert those paying close attention to Betfair's Top Runscorer market.

Smith has been forced to find a new partner at the top of the order after Bosman was ruled out with a back injury. Herschelle Gibbs took up the mantle in the warm-up games and managed scores of eight and 20. Gibbs' record at international Twenty20 isn't the best, averaging just 18, albeit at a notable strike rate of 144. If the partnership with Smith remains intact through the fielding restrictions though, it would be hard not to see them rewarding their backers in the Highest 6 Over Total market. They managed to rattle up 54 off five and a half overs against Australia on Sunday, punishing the likes of Brett Lee and Nathan Bracken.

One group of people who will long to see the back of this tournament are the bowlers who promise to be nothing but cannon fodder for the game's big hitters. Shaun Pollock is ranked as the 25th most economical bowler in one-day history, but has admitted that he has no idea what would represent a good economy rate in this tournament.

However, the 34-year-old managed one of the rarest feats in this form of cricket in the warm up match against Sri Lanka when he bowled a maiden. His return of one wicket for nine runs in that match and two for 16 against Australia (both from three overs bowled) prove his skills can be transferred to Twenty20. His control will surely see him installed as one of the favourites to be the tournament's leading wicket taker.

Pollock will have to be on top form to restrict the West Indies top order, who thrive in this mode of the game. Marlon Samuels has the best strike rate of any batsman at 202.17, and his reputation was further enhanced with his quick fire 63 off 37 balls in the five-wicket warm-up victory over Kenya on Saturday. That knock included three fours and six maximums and there promises to be no shortage of boundaries at Johannesburg.

The average number of fours hit at the Wanderers in Twenty20 is 26.5 while there are an average of 9.5 shots per game which clear the rope on the full. Both South Africa's warm-up encounters included more than nine sixes, while there were 15 in the West Indies clash against Kenya, so expect plenty of action on the "9 and over" selection in the Total Sixes market.

Chris Gayle is an injury concern for the West Indies after he sat out the first warm-up game against Kenya and then had to retire hurt after scoring just seven runs on Sunday against New Zealand. Gayle's belligerent batting is ideally suited to Twenty20, averaging 25.33 at a strike rate of 133.33, but his bowling is also likely to be a key weapon. He has two international Twenty20 wickets and an economy rate of 6.88 is actually very respectable.

Both Gayle's wickets came against the Black Caps in February 2006 in a game which created history as the first ever tied international Twenty20 match, and there promises to be attractive odds of a repeat in Betfair's Tied Match market.

But tied matches aside, you can still expect plenty of mouth-watering action in front of packed crowds with tickets being available for less than Betfair's minimum stake. It promises to be 13 days of high-octane action which should not to be missed.

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