In the furore which naturally encompasses an Ashes summer, the T20 World Cup has perhaps been a little overlooked. However, in just a few hours the opening ceremony will be over and the curtain raiser against Holland will be well underway. The sport's most glittering stars will be on its most lucrative stage.
For England it is difficult to say how the tournament sits in this summer's grand plan. The squad boasts plenty of players who will not be playing against Australia in the Test series so there is every chance that whatever the outcome over the next few weeks the good morale and spirit of the five day squad will remain unharmed. The only real question is how Pieterson, Anderson, Broad et al will cope with the mental changes that go from flitting between the longest and shortest formats but for players as versitile as these it may be a case of worrying about nothing.
As for the tournament itself it is impossible to not be excited. After the poorly organised and arduous 2007 World Cup this is perfect (if a tad belated) antidote: all the stars and all the matches but compressed into three weeks.
The big teams will of course be in the mix, so expect Australia, South Africa and India to lead the way but expect a few upsets along the way. If Scotland and Ireland can pick up victories against top sides in 50 overs there is no need to suspect that they can't do it over 20, where just a few balls can change everything.
An excellent outside bet would be Sri Lanka. In Jayasuria, Jayawardene and Sangakara they have a top order which can take apart any bowling attack, and in Mendis and Murali they have arguably the two finest spinners in the world at this moment in time, and spin is often the game breaker in T20.
Either way, if you live near one of the grounds wear a hard hat when you are out and about because even without Andrew Symonds (sent home for breaking team rules on drinking) there are plenty of big hitters in England for the next three weeks.
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