World T20: Five to watch

Brendon McCullum will be looking to continue his fine form over the New Zealand summer. Photo / Getty Images

David Leggat picks five players he expects to have a big say at the world T20 tournament starting early tomorrow

Brendon McCullum (New Zealand)
Only Aaron Finch sits above him in T20 batting rankings. No one has scored more T20 runs than the New Zealand skipper. The debate continues over where he should bat. Put it this way, somewhere in the top three is the answer. Scores fast even when not at his best. A poor McCullum return will severely handicap NZ's hopes.

Chris Gayle (West Indies)

He likes the ball coming on to the bat, so Gayle may need to pick his moments. But he is still the West Indies' most dangerous batsman. If he's on song - and an unbeaten 58 off 38 balls against England this week suggests he's not far off - the defending champions, who have good spin options and decent hitters through the order, will be a real threat.

Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka)

The round arm slinger with the curly dyed gold locks has been a handful for years and most batsmen are none the wiser at picking him up. Sri Lanka use him in one-over spells at times and be sure he'll have the bowling mark in his hands near the finish of games.

Saeed Ajmal (Pakistan)

Ranked third among T20 bowlers, Ajmal is a befuddler of the best batsmen. You mightn't like the, er, purity of his action but he's passed tests so the game is stuck with it. No one has taken more than his 81 T20 wickets in 59 games at 17 runs apiece and his economy rate of 6.2 an over is tasty too. A genuine matchwinner.

Aaron Finch (Australia)

The easy choice would be David Warner, but Finch is the world's top-ranked T20 batsman, whose strike rate is a whopping 167.33. He's played 14 T20s, averaging 41.8, in one of which he clobbered 156 in 63 balls against England at Southampton last year. With hints that this could be a bowlers' tournament, Finch is clearly a gamebreaker.