T20 World Cup tips and predictions: England to contend, India to continue knockout hoodoo, South Africa threat

Howdy cricket lovers... guess what time it is? It's time for yet another T20 World Cup, the third in the last three years. 

For the first time in the history of the game, an ICC tournament is coming to the land of stars and stripes, with games held in New York, Texas and Florida alongside six venues in the West Indies.

The ball-thrashing bonanza kicks off in Texas on June 2 and there are more contenders than ever, with the tournament expanding to 20 teams, so you'll see the likes of England and India joined by the likes of Oman and Papua New Guinea. 

They'll be split into four groups of five and the top two from each group will qualify for the Super 8's before two from each Super 8's group will reach the semi-finals and then it'll culminate with the final at Bridgetown on June 29. 

Are you still with us? Good, as we're about to take you through the main contenders for the trophy.

T20 World Cup Tournament All MATCHES 2024: Bet £10+ pre-match, get a £5 free bet if any team scores more than 180 runs in the match that you bet on.
 

England (2022 result - winners)

The defending champions are looking to get back on track in the white-ball set-up under Matthew Mott and Jos Buttler after an abysmal defence of their 50-over World Cup crown in India. 

Mott and Buttler were the toast of England when they won the competition in 2022, but 2023 was a big comedown, so the defending champions will be under pressure to perform here. 

Ben Stokes was the star man in the 2022 final, but the all-rounder has decided to focus on getting overs under his belt in the County Championship ahead of the Test summer. 

Despite Stokes' absence, England have an abundance of big hitters, with Will Jacks, Phil Salt, Harry Brook, Buttler, Liam Livingstone and Johnny Bairstow a batting lineup that will strike fear into all teams. 

With the ball England are relying on the brilliance of Sam Curran and the fitness of their key trio, Mark Wood, Reece Topley and Jofra Archer. The three latter players are fantastic bowlers if they're fit, but if one of them gets injured then England's hopes could go up in smoke. 

Meanwhile, dependable spin twins Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid are joined by Tom Hartley, a bright spot of England's Test winter. They could go the distance again but a lot of that depends on the fitness of Archer and Wood.

 

Australia (2022 result - Super 12's)

Stop what you're doing everyone... because the 50-over world champions have entered the chat. 

IPL star Travis Head inspired Australia to a World Cup win in 2023, upsetting tournament hosts India while he was at it. 

Their last T20 World Cup win came in 2021 when they triumphed in the UAE but their 2022 campaign saw them exit in the Super 12's on home soil. 

Head leads a dependable batting unit that features David Warner, Tim David, Glenn Maxwell and Josh Inglis. Meanwhile all-rounders Mitchell Marsh and Cameron Green can bring the x-factor. 

However, Australia's bowling attack could swing big matches in their favour. 

Pat Cummins is a multi-format wizard, Adam Zampa is fresh off an excellent 50-over World Cup campaign and Nathan Ellis has been impressive in T20 leagues around the world. 

They'll be in the mix but we think there's better value elsewhere in the betting.

 

India (2022 result - semi-finals)

The Indians have made an unhealthy habit of dominating tournaments until the final stages, with their last ICC tournament win coming in the 2013 Champions Trophy. 

Since then they have reached four semi-finals and five finals in ICC competitions, but they have not won a single tournament in that period. 

They will definitely be in the mix come the latter stages, but will Virat Kohli and Co be able to get over their knockout hoodoo? We don't think so. 

They have an embarrassment of riches in their squad, we all know about the quality of Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja and Rishabh Pant, but we think Yashavi Jaiswal will be the star of India's show. 

Jaiswal battered England's bowlers in the winter and has the skillset to dominate the world game across all formats, he is certainly worth a punt in the top runscorer market. 

Despite the talent in their squad, we think that India lacks the winning mentality that the England and Australia squads possess

 

South Africa (2022 result- Super 12's)

South Africa put themselves back into the global spotlight with a run to the semi-finals in India.

They were impressive for the bulk of the tournament and while England fans want to forget, they smashed Buttler's team by 229 runs and also came close to knocking out eventual champions Australia in the semi-final. 

A new era of stars has come through for the Proteas, with the likes of Tristan Stubbs and Heinrich Klassen able to clear the ropes by some distance, while the experienced Quinton De Kock and David Miller bring nous and knowhow to the South African team. 

In the bowling ranks Marco Jansen and Gerald Coetzee offer plenty of pace, while Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi are great spin options to have, with both offering plenty of variety. 

Expect the Proteas to have another good run here and at 13/2 they are worth an each-way punt.

 

West Indies (2022 result - group stage)

West Indies have had a poor time of it when it comes to ICC tournaments in recent years. 

They failed to make the Super 12's in 2022, while they never even boarded the plane in 2023 due to the Netherlands qualifying at their expense. 

However they are co-hosts and have some exciting talent coming through the ranks, especially Shamar Joseph who was excellent in the Test series in Australia. 

When you add that to a batting lineup that includes the big-hitting Nicholas Pooran and Shimron Hetmyer combined with the all-around abilities of Andre Russell and Jason Holder, the Windies have a chance of upsetting the apple cart. 

Expect a better showing from the West Indies on home soil, but winning the whole competition will be a tough ask. 

 

The outsiders

Pakistan made it to the final in 2022 when they were beaten by England in a close-run affair, but it has been all change since then. Gary Kirsten is their new white ball coach and has only had the ongoing series against England before their opener against the USA, so there's a lot of work for Kirsten to do. 

They have a great bowling attack with the likes of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah and Imad Wasim, but away from Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam, their batting line-up looks weak. 

New Zealand are a team you can never write off in these situations, with the Kiwis making it to at least the semi-finals in their last four ICC white-ball events. 

The Kiwi squad is one of the oldest in the competition but watch out for the performances of young stars Finn Allen and Rachin Ravindra, who could be in with a shout of the individual honours. 

 

Suggested bets: 

England to win the T20 World Cup

South Africa each-way in the T20 World Cup