Dhoni admits bowling concerns

Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni admits he has concerns over his bowling attack as India prepare to launch their assault on the World Twenty20 title (India 9/2 fav Tournament Outright with bet365).

The Asian giants begin their campaign against minnows Afghanistan on Wednesday and are overwhelming favourites to take the points against a side containing no household names (Afghanistan 14/1, India 1/33 Match Prices with bet365).

But 20-over cricket is tailor-made for shocks and the Afghans will hope to catch the star-studded India side on an off-day to claim the spoils.

However unlikely that seems, Dhoni is not entirely happy with the players he has at his disposal and feels that his side’s strength lays away from the bowlers.

“Bowling has always been a bit of a concern,” he acknowledged. “If you compare our batting to our bowling, the bowling is slightly weaker than the batting.”

India are the current 50-over world champions and have an awesome-looking batting line-up, with Virat Kohli taking his game to a new level in recent times.

There is also Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma and the returning Yuvraj Singh for the Afghan bowlers to deal with and it seems inevitable that, if they bat first, Dhoni’s men will reach a total approaching 200.

While that will be far too much for the non-Test-playing nation, India will then play England, and the defending champions will provide a much sterner test for the sub-continental side.

Any weakness in the attack will be exposed by Stuart Broad’s men, who have looked good in beating South Africa and Australia in two recent 20-over contests, although they made hard work of beating Pakistan in their final warm-up game on Wednesday but did somehow successfully defend 111.

Jayawardene wants to make history

Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene is confident that his side can become the first host nation to win the World Twenty20 crown (Sri Lanka – 5/1 Tournament Outright with bet365).

The islanders will open the tournament against minnows Zimbabwe on Tuesday and are massive favourite to begin their campaign with a victory in Hambantota (Sri Lanka 1/10, Zimbabwe 6/1 – Match Prices).

Jayawardene has overseen a vast improvement in Sri Lanka’s fortunes since regaining the captaincy and they now have a confident, well-balanced side, who can mix it with the best in all forms of the game.

The captain himself has a decent 20-over record and, with players such as Kumar Sangakkara, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Lasith Malinga in the side, they can expect to reach the latter stages of the event.

No host side has won the tournament to date, with India claiming the inaugural event in South Africa, Pakistan triumphing in England and Paul Collingwood leading England to glory in the West Indies two years ago.

But that statistic does not faze Jayawardene, who wants to make sure the trophy remain in Sri Lanka on October 7.

“There’s always first time, isn’t it,” he said. “No one has done it, so maybe it’s our time to turn it around and make it first.”

Zimbabwe are not expected to cause the Asians too many problems despite an improvement in their form over the past couple of years and it would be a major shock if they qualified for the Super Eights.

Hales happy with England form

England began their warm-up for the World Twenty20 with a tight nine-run victory over arch rivals Australia, with the tournament proper set to get underway on Tuesday (England 15/2, Australia 13/2 – Tournament Outright with bet365).

Alex Hales (9/2 – Top England Tournament Batsman with bet365) provided the backbone of England’s competitive total of 172-6, scoring 52 off just 38 balls including seven fours.

Luke Wright (35) and Eoin Morgan (30) also got amongst the runs before Mike Hussey (25/1 with bet365 to finish as the tournament’s Top Batsman) almost single-handedly steered the Aussies to victory.

His innings of 71 – which included five sixes – was not quite enough as the Baggy Greens fell just short, despite Shane Watson’s powerful 37 at the top of the order.

Hales was delighted to have found some form going into the tournament and believes that the conditions will not be as bad for England as many pundits have anticipated.

“It’s a great way to start the warm-up to this tournament, and we also had that good win against South Africa in Birmingham last week ,” said Hales.

“It’s nice to get some runs under your belt in the first warm-up game,” he added. “It is a very different challenge to what we’re used to in England, but I think the deck was a lot better than everyone expected.”

England will complete their preparations in another warm-up against Pakistan on Wednesday, before they begin their title defence against Afghanistan on Friday.

Broad hails T20 talent

England skipper Stuart Broad says he believes his young squad have what it takes to retain the Twenty20 World Cup in Sri Lanka (England 7/1 T20 World Cup outright with bet365).

The defending champions flew out to the subcontinent this week to begin their preparations for the tournament off the back of an encouraging win over South Africa on Wednesday night.

The Proteas are 5/1 to win their first T20 World Cup, but England were able to tame their opponents as they won by 28 runs at Edgbaston.

Jos Butler and Craig Kieswetter proved to be the heroes of the hour in midweek and England will be looking for the young duo to make the step up in class again in Sri Lanka.

England have lost some big names since winning the World Twenty20 title in 2010, most notably Kevin Pietersen, who was man of the tournament in the West Indies two years ago.

Without Pietersen’s big hitting, England have been tipped to struggle but Broad believes the likes of Butler, Alex Hales and Jonny Bairstow have the quality necessary to mount a serious defence of their crown.

“I’ve got full belief in the squad,” he said.

“I see the guys in training every day and it’s frightening what they can do.

“We’re confident. We’ve got some talented players here, and played some really good Twenty20 cricket in the past year.”

England kick off their campaign on September 21 against Afghanistan before they face India two days later.

With the top two from each group going through to the Super Eight phase, Broad’s men will be expected to be in the shake-up in the knockout stages and can be backed at 7/5 to win the group.

Anderson earns England call

England pace bowler James Anderson has been called up to the Twenty20 side for their upcoming series with South Africa (England 1/1, South Africa 4/5 – Match Betting with bet365).

The Lancashire seamer has not played for the national side in the shortest form of the game since 2009 but has been brought into the squad to replace the injured Steven Finn.

A back injury looks set to keep Finn out of action for the three-game series with the Proteas, which has given Anderson the opportunity to claim a few more wickets against the southern hemisphere outfit this summer.

The 30-year-old has not been named in the Twenty20 squad for the World Cup which gets underway later this month in Sri Lanka, as England (6/1 – Twenty20 World Cup outright with bet365) look to retain their crown after their success two years ago in the Caribbean.

Anderson did not enjoy the best of form against South Africa at Test level in their recent series defeat and will be looking to get back to his best in the shortest form of the game, with the first match taking place on Saturday at Chester-le-Street.

Broad looking to future

England’s Stuart Broad says it is time for his side to move on from the Kevin Pietersen era ahead of Sunday’s one-off Twenty20 match against the West Indies (England 10/11, West Indies 10/11 with bet365).

The big-hitting batsman recently announced his retirement from the shorter forms of the international game, in an effort to prolong his Test career.

He undoubtedly leaves a huge hole in the England batting line-up after playing a key role in the World Cup triumph in 2010, but Broad is unperturbed and says it is his job to find an adequate replacement ahead of the defence of their title later this year.

The 25-year-old, who captains his country in T20s, will be in charge of a number of youngsters for the match at Trent Bridge, with the likes of Jos Buttler and Alex Hales being handed rare starts.

However, Broad is confident they will step-up to the mark and is looking forward to the challenge of building a team for the upcoming tournament in Sri Lanka (England 7/1 Twenty20 World Cup outright with bet365).

“Kevin is a world-class Twenty20 player so of course it is disappointing that he is not with us, but it’s a great opportunity for someone else to put their hand up and stake a claim for that spot,” said Broad.

“We’ve got an exciting group of players in that changing room and everyone is really excited about getting on that field and doing the job.

“We have quite a short period of time and a short number of games until that World Cup  so you want to make as much use of that as possible when we do get the opportunity,” he added.

Kirsten targets number one

South Africa cricket coach Gary Kirsten insists he is happy with the form of his team and is targeting world domination, starting with Friday’s one-off T20 clash against India (S Africa 8/11, India 11/10 Match Prices with bet365).

The Proteas have just returned from a six-week tour of New Zealand, where they recorded a 1-0 Test series success that would have been 3-0 but for the weather.

They also took the one-day series 3-0 and claimed the 20-over contests 2-1, and they appear to have a group of players capable of beating anyone in the world at present.

There is no rest for the players, however, as they face MS Dhoni’s men in a one-off 20-over contest organised as a tribute to Proteas’ all-rounder Jacques Kallis.

T20 internationals are few and far between and therefore any chance that a side can take to face top-class opposition is gratefully accepted, with the Twenty20 World Cup set to be played in Sri Lanka later this year (S Africa 11/2 T20 World Cup Outright with bet365).

South Africa have never won the 50-over or 20-over World Cup and have earned the label of “chokers” over the years, with the ability to look good early in a tournament only to lose when it really matters.

But Kirsten is only looking forward and has made it clear where he wants the team to go.

“We’ve set ourselves some lofty standards, and we want to be the best team in world cricket, so we’re very excited about where we’re going,” he said.

Dhoni ready for Proteas clash

India captain MS Dhoni has denied claims that Friday’s one-off Twenty20 match against South Africa is inconvenient his side (South Africa 4/5, India 1/1 with bet365).

India flew into Johannesburg on Wednesday for the now annual match to celebrate 150 years of Indian settlement within the country.

The two countries took part a similar game last year, but that came during Dhoni’s side’s tour of the Rainbow Nation, while Friday’s match will be a one-off and is also being used by the Proteas as a tribute to long-serving all-rounder Jacques Kallis.

The Indian players will return home immediately after the clash to prepare for the seven week long IPL which begins next Wednesday (Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings 7/2 IPL outright with bet365).

Duncan Fletcher’s side have been busy in the last few months, having participated in an arduous tour of Australia during the winter, as well as taking part in the Asia Cup.

This has led to some claiming that Friday’s match comes at an inconvenient time for Dhoni and his men but the 30-year-old insists that they’re ‘happy’ with the fixture.

“We are all happy,” Dhoni said. “In South Africa the sports are managed really well. When a team comes everything is in place and in order. I don’t think fatigue will be a real factor.”

Bresnan issued England call

Yorkshire pace bowler Tim Bresnan has been called up into the England (5/2 ODI series outright with bet365) one-day and Twenty20 squads, despite still having to prove his fitness after a persistent elbow injury.

The 26-year-old missed England’s 3-0 Test whitewash defeat at the hands of Pakistan, having failed to fully recover from an elbow operation but now the all-rounder is closing in on a return to the national side.

Following the disappointment of the Test series, England will be looking to get back to winning ways in the shorter forms of the game starting with the first ODI against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi on February 13 (6/5 to win first ODI match with bet365).

England national selector Geoff Miller believes the squads selected for the upcoming ODI and Twenty20 series have the potential to overcome the Pakistanis in the limited overs game.

He said: “We have selected two squads that include both experienced international players and younger players who have performed strongly for England Lions in recent months and deserve an opportunity to further test themselves against quality opposition.

“Playing against Pakistan in the UAE will be challenging, but it is important that these players continue to develop their skills so that we are able to make strides in limited-overs cricket.”

Snell eager for more

Somerset star Steve Snell is determined to help his side reach the group stage of the Champions League as they prepare to face Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday afternoon (Somerset 7/4, Kolkata 4/9 Match Prices with bet365).

The 28-year-old started the season playing club cricket for Bristol but was called up to the Somerset side as cover for England star Craig Kieswetter.

And the Taunton club will be thankful that they had the wicket-keeper in their ranks on Tuesday as his unbeaten 34 helped Somerset chase down the 126 they needed to beat Auckland and claim the points from their opening match in the qualifying pool.

Alfonso Thomas hit the winning run from the final ball of the match but now they face an Indian outfit containing such world-class stars as Jacques Kallis, Brett Lee and Ryan ten Doeschate.

Victory will confirm their place in the group stage of the event while defeat will not be the end of the world as the best runner-up also advances from qualifying.

Snell, who put on 61 with James Hildreth (34), admits he was initially just pleased to make the squad for the sub-continent but, now the action has started, he is desperate to help his side stay in the competition (Snell 14/1 Top Somerset batsman with bet365).

“I was pretty happy to be here, for starters, but I’ve said that once we got out here it was about winning games of cricket,” he said. “I’m desperate for the guys to get through to the next stage and we’ve gone a long way to achieving that.”