The Twenty20 international, between England and New Zealand today, heralds the start of the five-match One Day series beginning at the Riverside on June 15th. England’s head coach Peter Moores regards today’s match as an important opportunity to get his men into shape and take the upper hand in the confidence stakes. Many cricket Betting fans regard the Twenty20 format as a bit of a slogfest and, in comparison to test cricket, it is a bit like watching the Bolshoi do a one-off cameo for ‘Strictly Come Dancing’.

Inevitably, there’s more to it than that and the key to success is attack. Opening batsmen need to set the pace with a confident and swift accumulation of runs. Bowlers need threatening and accurate bowling to pin down the attacking strikers and gain the upper hand. Not all batsmen are strong on attack and losing a couple of early wickets can be decisive in this format. Although England invented the Twenty20, others have developed the skills needed to succeed in it and England are still sorting out roles in the team.

England captain, Paul Collingwood is causing some concern with his batting. His average in the recent test series was just 10.66 and in last Wednesday’s Twenty20 against Durham he managed only seven runs. Glovesman Tim Ambrose is looking good, however, and his support for Pietersen in the last test must have upped his confidence. Anderson too, after his superb test bowling performance, will be worrying the Kiwis.

Online betting punters might be well advised to take of heed of the New Zealand captain, Daniel Vettori’s, worrying confidence. He and some other members of his team have gained valuable experience in the Indian Premier League with key man, Scott Styris, having been there for the whole tournament. Vettori believes that Styris’s experience will help in terms of his knowledge of the way the Twenty20 game is moving and developing.