Sri Lanka hosts the fourth edition of the ICC World Twenty20 tournament and Sky Sports will be showing every game exclusively live throughout the three-week tournament.
In a true celebration of cricket, fans can expect some pulsating games with batsmen throwing caution to the wind in their quest for big scores.
It’s a format England have excelled in over the last two years. Since lifting the World Twenty20 trophy in 2010 (above), their first victory at an ICC limited-overs competition, Stuart Broad’s side won nine of their next 14 games, a run that has moved them to the top of the T20 world rankings.
They will be the team to beat in Sri Lanka and while progression from a group containing India and Afghanistan is expected, the game against India will prove crucial in determining the difficulty of their path throughout the knockout stage.
England’s selectors have been bold in their choices, with Kevin Pietersen’s future on the international scene looking uncertain after his omission from the group travelling to the subcontinent.
Instead, the squad has been set in a more youthful mould. Alex Hales has been included after a superb 99 in the Twenty20 meeting with the West Indies in June, while Hampshire spinner Danny Briggs could make his first international appearances in the format.
Ireland, who defeated Afghanistan in the final of the qualifiers, face an uphill battle to reach the final eight.
William Porterfield’s troops have been paired with the West Indies once again, with Group B completed by the much-fancied Australia.
If the Irishmen can cause an upset, a potential quarterfinal clash with England could lie in wait.
Sri Lanka, with home advantage, have high hopes of winning the tournament for the first time.
Along with newly crowned cricketer of the year Kumar Sangakkara , Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan will do damage with the bat, while Sri Lanka can also call on talented all-rounders Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera.
Fast bowler Lasith Malinga and unorthodox spinner Ajantha Mendis complete a formidable line-up.
India, winners of the inaugural event in 2007, are also strongly fancied given the experience their team have gained from playing in the Indian Premier League.
They are the reigning 50-over world champions and in Mahendra Dhoni have an inspirational captain while batsman Yuvraj Singh has battled back from cancer to take his place in the team.
West Indies have also been touted as potential champions, with explosive batsmen in Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard and Marlon Samuels, and a wily spinner in Sunil Narine, while South Africa, 2009 winners Pakistan and Australia all have strong sides that could challenge for the title.
Twelve teams start the tournament with the top two from each group of four progressing to the Super Eights, and the final being played in Colombo on October 7.
England, West Indies, Sri Lanka and New Zealand are seeded to meet in group one of the Super Eights with arch-rivals India and Pakistan seeded to face Australia and South Africa in Group B.
The women’s tournament starts on September 26, with the semi-finals and final taking place before the men’s matches. Australia will be defending the title they won in 2010.
Sky Sports will be the only place to follow all of the action in Sri Lanka, with exclusive TV coverage of every match, while radio listeners can tune in to the BBC’s Test Match Special for commentaries on selected matches.
Details of how to follow the 2012 World Twenty20 on Sky Sports and BBC Radio:
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Sky Sports will have exclusive live coverage of every match from the ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka.
Ian Ward, Charles Coville and Paul Allott will share presenting duties throughout the three-week tournament, and they will be joined by regular Sky Sports pundits including Nick Knight, Michael Atherton, Bob Willis, Dominic Cork and Mark Butcher.
Commentary comes from the world feed team provided by host broadcaster ESPN Star Sports.
The full list: Sourav Ganguly, Sanjay Manjrekar, Nasser Hussain, Wasim Akram, Ramiz Raja, Tony Greig, Ian Chappell, Mark Waugh, Russell Arnold, Ian Bishop, Pommie Mbangwa, Damien Fleming, Simon Doull, David Lloyd, Harsha Bhogle and Alan Wilkins.
The tournament begins on Sky Sports on Tuesday, September 18, when hosts Sri Lanka face Zimbabwe in Group C, but before then you can get all the build-up to tournament with an in-depth preview show (Mon 17, 7pm, SS2).
Former England batsmen Mike Atherton and Nick Knight will join Charles Colvile in the studio on Monday from 7pm for two hours of T20 chat, including all the latest news from the England camp and an assessment of the chances for all 12 sides in the competition.
Sky Sports will also broadcast live coverage of the closing stages of the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 competition, featuring both semi-finals and the final.
Fans can keep up-to-date with all the latest news, statistics and latest scores via the Sky Sports cricket website.
In addition to TV coverage, Sky Sports subscribers can can watch every game on Sky Go via their computer, mobile or tablet.
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BBC’s Test Match Special will have commentary on the majority of matches from the ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka.
Every England and Ireland match in the initial group stage will be broadcast live, then all games from the Super Eight stage onwards – as well as the semi-finals and finals of the women’s tournament.
BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew leads the TMS team, and will be joined in the commentary box by Alison Mitchell, Prakash Wakankar, Roshan Abeysinghe, John Kenny and Neil Manthorp.
Providing expert analysis will be TMS regular Vic Marks, former international captains Alan Lewis (Ireland), Sunil Gavaskar (India) and Ramiz Raja (Pakistan), former Sri Lanka all-rounder Russel Arnold, and Australia paceman Dirk Nannes, who was the leading wicket-taker at the last World Twenty20.
TMS commentary is available on BBC Radio 4 Long Wave, BBC 5 live Sports Extra and via the BBC Sport website, while there will also be regular updates on BBC Radio 5 live.
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