T20 World Cup: Five batters to look for

bet365 News Team Published: 11 Oct 22 12:54

T20 World Cup 2022 is almost upon us with a galaxy of short-format superstars in Australia ready to light up the eighth running of the tournament.

There will be fireworks off the pitch and fireworks on it, too, thanks to a new breed of batters who have turned clearing the ropes into an art form.

Here are five of the best who are sure to catch the eye.

What	T20 World Cup 2022
Where	Australia
When	16th October - 13th November, 2022
How to watch	Sky Sports Cricket
Odds	Australia 11/4, India 10/3, England 7/2, Pakistan 15/2, New Zealand 8/1

Hales keen to take second chance

When Alex Hales was jettisoned by England over three years ago with then-skipper Eoin Morgan claiming he had "lost the trust" of his team-mates, few saw a way back for the big-hitting opener.

Few, but not Hales himself. He always believed and now the stars have aligned thanks to his own sumptuous form, Jason Roy dropping off the radar and Jonny Bairstow getting injured, means the Nottinghamshire ace - 20/1 to be tournament top scorer - is back.

A statement 84 from 51 balls off the Aussies in Perth after a decent tour of Pakistan showed three years away from the international party hadn't dulled his desire or his skill and his pairing with Jos Buttler at the top of the England order looks frightening.

Can world No.1 Rizwan live up to the hype?

Few players are entering the T20 World Cup in much better form than Mohammad Rizwan.

The Pakistan opener was named ICC Player of the Month for September after a string of special knocks at the top of the order for Pakistan.

Related Cricket News

T20 World Cup - Cricket: England team profile

T20 World Cup - Cricket: India team profile

T20 World Cup - Cricket: All you need to know

The leading runscorer in the recent Asian Cup, he repeated the feat in the seven-match series against England, smashing 316 runs at a rate of almost 139 with four 60-plus scores.

Those performances capped an incredible year in which he led his Multan Sultans side to Pakistan Super League glory, and he's a well-fancied 8/1 to be top runscorer over the next few weeks.

Late bloomer Yadav ready to blossom

When Suryakumar Yadav hooked his first ball in international T20 cricket - off Jofra Archer, no less - for six, you wondered where India had been hiding him.

Yadav was 31 when he made his debut last year against England and has taken to T20 cricket like a duck to water.

He smashed two 50s in his first three T20s and then a remarkable 117 off 55 balls in a losing cause against England, and after his first 34 matches boasted a strike-rate of a dizzying 176.81, the best in the game.

He's had to bide his time but now Yadav, a 16/1 shot to be top tournament scorer, could be one of the stars of the finals.

Six machine David desperate to shine

Competition for the "finisher" role in the Aussie middle-order is pretty competitive with Glenn Maxwell looking over his shoulder at Tim David.

David's story is remarkable. He played his early cricket for his country of birth, Singapore, but having been brought up in Western Australia he eventually got to wear the Baggy Green.

And the 6ft 5in colossus is one almighty hitter. In this year's Indian Premier League he faced just 86 balls - 16 of them disappeared over the ropes.

He finished up with a barely-believable strike rate of over 216.

David has competition for a place in the Aussie middle order but if he gets his chance brace yourselves for something truly special.

Titan Miller aims to finish off South Africa's rivals

South Africa will look to Quinton de Kock at the top of the order and David Miller in the middle order to propel them into the semis.

Miller has been a star of the Proteas side for a decade now but is a mainstay as much as a finisher these days.

He's been buzzing since starring with Gujarat Titans as they roared to IPL glory in May - scoring a match-winning 32 not out off 19 balls in the final - and finished the tournament with 481 runs at a 142-plus strike rate.

Miller, a colossally consistent six-hitter and far better against pace than spin these days, trumped that at the Caribbean Premier League in the autumn when he boasted a strike-rate of over 156 dazzling for Barbados Royals.