Twenty20 Cup preview

In the Pink: Middlesex proved looks could be deceptive in 2008

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The Twenty20 Cup bursts into life on Monday with a full round of fixtures headlined by defending champions Middlesex Panthers v Surrey Brown Caps at Lord's.

To get you in the mood for the tournament, skysports.com has put together a comprehensive group-by-group guide.

Mid/West/Wales

Warwickshire Bears topped the Mid/West/Wales section last season and appear well equipped for further success.

Neil Carter and Jonathan Trott are particularly adept at the 20-over game, but the loss of opening batsman Darren Maddy - the all-time leading run scorer in the competition - for the rest of the season to a snapped cruciate knee ligament is a setback.

Warwickshire were runners up in the inaugural tournament back in 2003 but have since lost four times at the quarter-final stage. To improve on that record they will need their bowling attack, headlined by England Lions seamer Chris Woakes and Kiwi off-spinner Jeetan Patel, to step up.

An injury crisis has lowered expectations for Northamptonshire Steelbacks, who finished second in 2008 before being eliminated by Essex in the quarter-finals.

Steven Crook, Stephen Peters and David Sales are currently sidelined by fitness problems.

The short-term acquisiton of veteran Australian all-rounder Ian Harvey, one of the original Twenty20 specialists, provides some welcome respite.

The beneficiaries of Yorkshire's disqualification last year, Glamorgan Dragons will be aiming for a return visit to the quarter-finals.

The recruitment of powerful South Australian batsman Mark Cosgrove should help their cause, although he has played just 13 previous Twenty20 matches.

The Welsh county are starting to emerge from a long fallow period under the astute captaincy of Jamie Dalrymple and an influx of young prospects, chiefly all-rounder James Harris and batsman Tom Maynard, the son of director of cricket Matthew.

Somerset Sabres, the 2005 winners, boast arguably the strongest batting line-up in the competition, led by former England opener Marcus Trescothick.

Craig Kieswetter, James Hildreth and Zander de Bruyn are also ideally suited to batting in the short format, while fireworks can be expected from Peter Trego - the current leader of the Sky Sports sixes league - lower down the order.

The Cidermen's bowling is less frightening and, given that two of the three highest totals in Twenty20 Cup history were made at Taunton, the runs are sure to be flowing in the westcountry.

The dark horses in the Mid/West/Wales could be Worcestershire Royals, who have never been to finals day.

The Royals' recent form is poor, they have lost three out of four in the County Championship and missed out on the quarter-finals of the FP Trophy.

But they have a power-packed batting line-up and a disciplined, if unspectacular, bowling attack, spearheaded by Australian all-rounder Ashley Noffke.

The revival of Gloucestershire Gladiators following the return of John Bracewell for a second stint as director of cricket should continue during the Twenty20 Cup.

A trademark of Bracewell's teams in Bristol has been their ability to put the squeeze on opponents in the field through a combination of accurate bowling - usually with the wicketkeeper stood up at the stumps - and predatory fielding.

After winning just one game on the way to bottom spot in the group stage last season, Gloucestershire - who have already made the last eight of the FP Trophy - are certain to improve on that showing and a quarter-final place looks a distinct possibility.

North

Durham Men in Black enter the Twenty20 Cup looking to plug one of the few remaining gaps in their trophy cabinet.

Having claimed silverware in LV County Championship and FP Trophy, hopes are high in the north-east that the run can continue in the 20-over format.

Durham's recent success has been built around a fine collection of seam bowlers and they are joined by the scything blade of Australian batsman David Warner for the duration of the competition.

Warner is pure box office - the left-hander made his debut in Australia's Twenty20 side before he had a first-class appearance to his name. No boundary is big enough once the 22-year-old gets into his stride, which is fortunate as his new Chester-le-Street home has one of the largest playing areas in the country.

Peter Moores had little success in Twenty20 during his time in charge of Sussex and England but will be aiming to turn that record around in his new role with Lancashire Lightning.

Even without the services of England pair James Anderson and Andrew Flintoff, the Lightning's bowlers remain capable of making plenty of strikes, headlined by the 90mph reverse swing of Sajid Mahmood.

Batting strength is more of a concern and the recruitment of India's VVS Laxman, one of the finest Test batsmen of his generation, looks to have been made with the County Championship in mind.

Laxman's IPL record with his home town Deccan Chargers is modest and the 34-year-old has never been noted for his gazelle-like qualities in the field.

The painful memory of being barred from a quarter-final appearance last year for fielding ineligible youngster Azeem Rafiq during a group game provides plenty of motivation for Yorkshire Carnegie.

Anthony McGrath's men are a well balanced side featuring plenty of young talent, in particular spin duo Adil Rashid and David Wainwright, while Rafiq is also likely to play a part again.

The Headingley groundstaff will be hoping for some fine weather so that the club's new £600,000 drainage system - which failed miserably during the abandoned ODI between England and West Indies earlier in May - is not put under too much strain.

Nottinghamshire Outlaws, the 2006 runners up, have the potential to go one better this year.

Samit Patel, banished from the England set-up for poor fitness, is a danger with both bat and ball, while the signing of destructive batsman Ali Brown from Surrey adds another match winner to a team already brimming with talent.

Derbyshire Phantoms have usually disappeared prior to the knockout phase in past Twenty20 Cups, but that could be about to change.

Australian batsmen Chris Rogers and Stuart Law and Jamaican Wavell Hinds - who all qualify as non-overseas players - should ensure plenty of runs on the board, especially given that lower down the order Greg Smith and Graham Wagg can both give the ball a fearful clout.

The bowling looks less strong on paper, especially since South African seamer Charl Langeveldt will not be joining the club after suffering a shoulder injury while playing in the IPL.

Leicestershire Foxes are the only county to have won the competition twice, in 2004 and 2006, although their chances of completing a hat-trick look decidedly slim.

Perhaps it is unwise to write off a team led by the irrepressible Paul Nixon but the club's policy of supplementing young talent such as Matthew Boyce, Josh Cobb and James Taylor with an assortment of experienced Kolpak signings has yet to bear fruit in terms of results.

There has been little to set the pulse racing at Grace Road so far this season and, with the county in full rebuilding mode, they could do well to improve on last season's two wins.

South

Middlesex may have ditched their Crusaders nickname to become the Panthers but they remain determined to become the first side to successfully defend the Twenty20 Cup.

Despite last season's silverware, it has been another winter of upheaval at Lord's with skipper Ed Smith retiring and former England seamer Angus Fraser returning to the county as director of cricket.

Veteran spinner Shaun Udal has succeeded Smith as captain and batsman Ed Joyce has left for Sussex.

The loss of firebrand Australian left-arm paceman Dirk Nannes, who recently starred for Delhi Daredevils in the IPL and will be representing Holland at the World Twenty20, leaves a lack of cutting edge among the bowlers, especially given that Tim Murtagh is sidelined by injury.

At least some of the stars of last season's triumph remain, most notably Tyron Henderson and Dawid Malan.

Kent Spitfires have reached the final in each of the last two years, winning the title in 2007 before suffering a nail-biting defeat to Middlesex last season.

Even with captain Robert Key away on England duty for some of the time, the Spitfires still have the look of contenders.

Opening batsman Joe Denly was the leading run scorer in the competition last year and he is followed by a succession of powerful all-rounders such as Justin Kemp, Ryan McLaren and Azhar Mahmood.

The call-up of Ravi Bopara, James Foster and Graham Napier to England's World Twenty20 squad is a blow for Essex Eagles' hopes.

All three players have starred in recent domestic campaigns, helping the Eagles make it to finals day twice in the last three years, but are likely to miss the first block of fixtures.

Napier, in particular, cemented his reputation - and an IPL contract - in the Twenty20 Cup. The all-rounder did so mainly on the back of one innings, albeit an incredible 152 not out off 58 balls, including a world-record 16 sixes.

Despite Chris Adams' departure to rivals Surrey, Sussex Sharks will have ambitions of thriving in a competition that has rarely been kind to them - the county made their solitary finals day appearance two years ago.

Pakistan all-rounder Yasir Arafat is a shrewd operator in the limited-overs arena, while young spinners Will Beer, Rory Hamilton-Brown and Ollie Rayner could prove a handful on the dry pitches at Hove.

Much depends on the performance of the top-order batting, with winter signing Joyce expected to carry the main burden.

Surrey Brown Caps, who reached the first four finals days before missing out on the last two, are in the first year of a rebuilding project.

Adams, the former Sussex skipper, was brought in as professional cricket manager at the Brit Oval during the winter and has overseen an overhaul of the playing squad.

Runs are unlikely to be a problem for the Brown Caps with a line-up including James Benning, Scott Newman and Usman Afzaal, who will be leading the side as Mark Butcher is out injured, alongside evergreen Mark Ramprakash and New Zealand all-rounder Grant Elliott.

The recruitment of former South Africa seamer Andre Nel on a Kolpak contract at least provides some aggression to a bowling attack that was found badly wanting during the 2008 edition, when Surrey finished last in the South with two victories.