Twenty20 betting popularity mirrors rise of game

England was the first country to be given a Twenty 20 preview, when official matches were launched in June 2003, and within a year the game had truly taken hold. The game between Middlesex and Surrey, the first time the new format had been played at Lord's, attracted a crowd of 26,500 - the highest county attendance outside a one-day final since 1953.

The game proved equally popular when introduced to Australia, the first international in that country attracting nearly 39,000 people to The Gabba, while the MCG was sold out with an 84,000 crowd for February's game against India.

India justified faith in Twenty 20 cricket betting

That match saw the meeting of the Twenty 20 World Champions and the ODI World Champions, as India had rewarded those who backed them in Twenty 20 betting by winning the inaugural event in South Africa in 2007.

While India has proved to be the biggest country for the game and for Twenty 20 cricket betting, giving rise to two rival domestic competitions, South Africa have notched up a number of impressive records in internationals.

Tyron Henderson has been the most successful bowler in Twenty 20 matches, taking 70 wickets, ahead of England's Nayan Doshi who has 61 from 39 matches. Three more South African bowlers - Andrew Hall, Charl Willoughby and Albie Morkel - have each taken more than 50 Twenty 20 wickets.

While Brad Hodge of Australia has proved the most successful batsman overall, attracting more than his share of Twenty 20 cricket betting, South Africa has both Hylton Ackerman and Graeme Smith in the top five.

Foxes hard to ignore in any Twenty 20 preview

In England, the Leicestershire Foxes have become a team tipped in many a Twenty 20 preview, winning two of the Twenty 20 Cup finals - they beat the Surrey Lions in 2004 and the Nottinghamshire Outlaws two years later.

Scribes compiling a Twenty 20 preview of the final would generally encourage punters to bet on the side batting second. Of the five Twenty 20 Cup finals played so far, Leicestershire's win in 2006 by four runs is the only time a team batting first has lifted the trophy.

New Zealand's Brendon McCullum is always a man to watch in terms of Twenty 20 betting on most runs scored in an international - he has the highest individual score of 158.

But in England it is hard to ignore the likes of Cameron White and Darren Maddy. White has the second and third-highest scores in the Twenty 20 Cup, with unbeaten knocks of 141 and 116, while Maddy has smashed more than 1,200 runs to make him one of the world's top batsmen in the format.