Richard Mann picks out five batsmen to follow from the first-round contenders at the ICC T20 World Cup, which gets under way on Sunday.
Kyle Mayers
2012 and 2016 T20 World Cup champions West Indies will need to make it through the first round in order to take on the big boys in the Super 12s, and a great amount of responsibility will fall on the shoulders of KYLE MAYERS.
The Barbadian all-rounder is set to open the batting at this World Cup having recently helped Jamaica Tallawahs to Caribbean Premier League title glory, and he backed that up with a classy 39 in a recent warm-up match against Australia.
Mayers has only played 18 T20Is in his career thus far and has yet to nail this format at international level, but this is a man with two centuries and an average close to 40 in Test cricket, and two more hundreds in ODIs.
A handy bowler, too, Mayers is vital to the current rebuild taking place with the West Indies, and starting off against a lower level of opposition gives him the perfect opportunity to lay the foundations for a successful tournament.
WOW!
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) October 5, 2022
Incredible six from Mayers - over cover! #AUSvWI pic.twitter.com/xBEaPYgFzN
Michael Leask
Scotland will have their work cut out to qualify for the Super 12s so chances to profit will be limited, but the one of the big learnings from the last few months has been how well those batting for them in the middle order have fared and that's an angle to pursue.
There are a few names to note, too, with Chris Greaves and Matt Watt capable of hitting a long ball and muscling their way to the 20 or 30 that could easily win the top Scotland match batsman market, particularly against the better bowling attacks.
The one who is most interesting is MICHAEL LEASK whose last five international innings have seen him make scores of 39, 19 not out, 5, 41 and 37.
While Scotland’s T20Is opportunities have been limited in 2022, they have played plenty of ODI cricket and Leask has averaged close to 30, with a couple of half-centuries.
Expect to back Leask at prices north of 10/1 throughout, and I’ll be disappointed if betting Scotland’s lower to middle order doesn’t pay at some stage.
Tom Cooper
TOM COOPER featured in my specials preview here, and he should be worth following in the top Netherlands batsman market.
Cooper is an experienced campaigner with a wealth of experience, both in First-Class and T20 cricket, and crucially, most of his career has been spent in Australia where he has been a terrific servant for South Australia.
Cooper is back in Dutch colours now as he enters the twilight of his career, and he should be full of confidence having recorded three consecutive half centuries against a fine Pakistan attack in their ODI series in August.
The 36-year-old is pencilled in to bat at number four in this Netherlands line-up, and is expected to prove a vital cog in a batting unit that has some talent and might just surprise a few onlookers when they begin their campaign against UAE in Geelong on Sunday morning.
Dasun Shanaka
Sri Lanka are short odds to progress to the Super 12 stage from Group A, and they should be a team full of confidence having stolen the limelight from the likes of Pakistan and India at the recent Asia Cup.
Top-order batsmen Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis will hope the make hay early in the competition, but there could be an angle to explore if and when Sri Lanka progress to the Super 12s and come up against stronger bowling attacks.
In DASUN SHANAKA, Sri Lanka have a captain who leads from the front with the bat and he has enjoyed a fine year in 2022 batting in the middle order, averaging 34.91 in that period.
Shanaka has pulled off some brilliant heists, most notably when blasting 54 not out from only 25 balls as Sri Lanka beat Australia with a ball to spare at Pallekele in June.
Either side of that match-winning hand, Shanaka made back-to-back unbeaten scores of 47 and 74 against India in February, and quickfire contributions of 45 and 33 not out against Bangladesh and India again at the Asia Cup.
When the going gets tough, Shanaka invariably gets going, and he is one to be betting in the top Sri Lanka batsman market from the Super 12 stage onwards.
Gerhard Erasmus
It would be unfair to expect too much from Namibia, but we were saying that in the UAE 12 months ago before they outshone the likes of Ireland and Netherlands to qualify for the latter stages, where they then beat Scotland.
David Wiese was the star man for Namibia in that tournament and will surely be the headline act again, but don't discount captain GERHARD ERASMUS whose output in the last 12 months has been most impressive.
Erasmus has posted scores of 27, 87, 68, 49 and 34 not out in his last five international appearances to continue his hot run of form, and it would seem that he is approaching the peak of his powers now.
World Cups invariably gives us a name to remember who was a relative unknown beforehand – perhaps Erasmus will be that man in Australia.
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