Champions League Twenty20 2009 - LIVE TV, PHOTOS,NEWS

	Pakistan's agonizing defeat to India in the final of the World Twenty20 in 2007, Alam believes, is well behind them © Getty Images

Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam believes Pakistan are now mentally well-equipped to handle any sort of situation and have grown over the disappointment suffered two years ago in the inaugural World Twenty20 final, which they lost to arch rival India by just five runs.

"I was commentating when we lost and it was very disappointing," Alam said after the team's training session on Tuesday evening, ahead of the clash with India in a warm-up game at The Oval, which will be their final practice fixture before the tournament proper gets underway on Friday.

Alam hopes the players involved in that pulsating final two years ago, played in front of a sellout crowd at the Wanderers, have learnt from that episode and moved on. Back then Pakistan needed 54 from 24 balls with only three wickets in hand but Misbah-ul-Haq almost turned the game on its head with some sumptuous strokeplay. 13 were needed off the final over and Misbah punished the inexperienced Joginder Sharma with a huge six to an easy full toss. But on the third ball, trying to scoop it over fine leg, he miscued and was caught by Sreesanth.

"I'm sure the boys and Misbah have forgotten what happened in the final two years ago. And after two years we are now more mentally prepared to handle such a situation," Alam said.

Alam is also not worried by the fact that none of the Pakistan players featured in the second IPL, as they were barred by the PCB from playing the tournament in the wake of the tensions between India and Pakistan post 26/11 terrorist attacks in Mumbai. When the tournament was moved out of India - over security reasons - the Pakistan players were hopeful of returning but IPL officials said it wouldn't be possible as the squads had already been finalised earlier. "Our players not figuring in the IPL has no bearing in this tournament," Alam said.

Pakistan haven't played much cricket of late apart from the ODI series against Australia in the UAE. The rustiness of their players was pretty evident in Monday's practice game against South Africa, which Pakistan lost by 59 runs. Except for offspinner Saeed Ajmal, who bowled economically and opener Ahmed Shehzad, who made 31, none of the Pakistan players showed any sort of form. Alam admitted the players were still coming to terms with foreign conditions and there is no way out except to understand each player's responsibility. "We are still settling down. I wasn't really proud of our performance yesterday. It takes at least a week's preparation for a team to get attuned to the conditions but there is nothing to be worried about."

According to Alam, for Pakistan to become consistent the key is their senior players, starting with their captain Younis Khan, need to perform. "I'm expecting a great deal from Younis Khan. Then we have people like Salman Butt, Misbah, Shahid Afridi, who can hit the ball and are tailor-made for this kind of cricket."

Afridi, never shy of speaking his mind, said he would want to make the same impact like in the previous World Twenty20, where he was one of the top bowlers. "I was one of the best bowlers in the 2007 Twenty20 World Cup. I will do my best once again and I've been doing well with the ball in the last few years for Pakistan. As for the batting, I know people expect a lot from me and luckily I've had a few decent knocks against Australia recently."

	Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff were once the keys to England's success but Pietersen believes a new batch of players can be just as dangerous © Getty Images
Related Links Player/Officials: Ravi Bopara | Kevin Pietersen Series/Tournaments: ICC World Twenty20 | Australia tour of England Teams: Australia | England

Kevin Pietersen is confident that England's Ashes hopes hinge not just on stars like himself and Andrew Flintoff following the emergence of several strong new players. Neither Pietersen nor Flintoff was available for the recent one-day series against West Indies, which England won convincingly, and Pietersen believes the same balance will be present in the Ashes squad.

"England are not relying on one or two players," Pietersen said. "If you look at Australia during their good times, if [Matthew] Hayden didn't perform, [Adam] Gilchrist did, and the best thing about what's happening now is that if I fail like I did when I got a first-baller at Lord's, we still got a decent total."

Ravi Bopara has been a revelation in England's top order this year, having scored centuries in all three of his Tests against West Indies. Pietersen said it was fantastic to have an in-form Bopara in the squad ahead of the Ashes.

"I've actually been quite annoyed when people have said the likes of Ravi are my rivals to counter the Australians," he said. "I am with Ravi all day every day, I love the bloke, his confidence, the way he plays without fear, the way he talks about things and the way he doesn't worry.

"I love his approach and it's something a lot of the players can learn from. [Stuart] Broad has been exceptional, Matty Prior is somebody who has improved so much as well and James Anderson produced a brilliant display at Durham the other day."

Pietersen's lead-in to the Ashes includes the ICC World Twenty20 and he said his fitness was not in doubt for the event despite his recent Achilles tendon injury. Pietersen will be keen to rectify his Twenty20 reputation - he said during the 2007 tournament he had played silly shots for a silly game - and he has no doubt of the importance of the event these days.

"We are playing here to win a World Cup," he said. "We have never won a world tournament so this is of the utmost importance. But I think a lot of us are behind the Indian players and the South Africans because we haven't played as much."

	Jesse Ryder, who hasn't often let his country down with the bat, definitely provides the X-factor for the team © Getty Images
Related Links Player/Officials: Martin Guptill | Brendon McCullum | Jesse Ryder | Ross Taylor Series/Tournaments: ICC World Twenty20 Teams: New Zealand

First, the good news. The shorter the format the more competitive New Zealand become. Despite slumping to eighth on the Test rankings they have been World Cup semi-finalists in two of the past three tournaments and matched that achievement at the inaugural World Twenty20, where they were denied a place in the decider by Pakistan.

Now the bad news. Their leading performers two years ago included Craig McMillan, Shane Bond and Mark Gillespie, none of whom are there this time around. But there is an upside: since 2007 they have added a couple of more than handy names to their team with Jesse Ryder and Martin Guptill proving dangerous at international level.

And the other plus is that New Zealand have found themselves in a group with Scotland, meaning along with South Africa they should have no trouble progressing past the opening stage. Then things become less clear-cut. Will a few powerful hitters and an economical A-grade slow-bowler be enough for them to move past more imposing line-ups? Only time will tell. But it's a fool who writes off New Zealand when the 50- or 20-over tournaments arrive.

Strengths

Crafty, high-quality spin is a major weapon in Twenty20 and slow bowlers don't come any cannier than Daniel Vettori. New Zealand can all but guarantee that he will deliver four thrifty overs each match; he has done that in every one of his 14 Twenty20 internationals and the most he has ever gone for is 6.75 an over. Of men who have played ten Twenty20s for their country, only Umar Gul has a better economy rate than Vettori's 5.35.

Weaknesses

While Vettori contains at one end, the fast men will be required to keep things tight at the other. And that is New Zealand's biggest challenge. Bond, Gillespie and Chris Martin did adequately in 2007 but none is in this squad. A pace attack based around the likes of Kyle Mills, Iain O'Brien, James Franklin, Ian Butler and Jacob Oram won't strike fear into many Twenty20 batting line-ups. To compensate for a lack of firepower they'll need to bowl smart - changes of pace, yorkers, cutters - or else risk an early exit.

X-factor

According to the online Wiktionary, an x-factor is that which has "unknown or unforeseeable consequences". That's pretty much how New Zealand Cricket would define Jesse Ryder. Despite having had behavioural issues in the past and being one of the big flops of the recent IPL, Ryder hasn't often let his country down with the bat. A Twenty20 strike-rate of 137.61 shows his power and if he and the equally dangerous Brendon McCullum can get their side off to a couple of quick starts, it could be the difference between an early departure and a place in the finals.

Key players

Vettori is the most important with the ball, Ryder and McCullum could destroy attacks and Oram has the ability to finish an innings in style. But it's hard to argue that any of those men are more important to New Zealand's chances than Ross Taylor. No. 4 is a key position in Twenty20. If the openers have failed he must be steady without stalling; if they have thrived he needs to maintain or increase the momentum immediately. Taylor has the game to fill that role. He had a good IPL and his barely believable 81 off 33 balls against Kolkata Knight Riders was a highlight.

Twenty20 form guide

Warm-up wins against Bangladesh and Ireland don't reveal much, although the form of Taylor and Guptill in those games was a pleasing sign. More of a positive was New Zealand winning their two most recent Twenty20s, against the reigning champions India in February. Since then it has been an up-and-down time for their squad members. Taylor thrived at Royal Challengers Bangalore, McCullum played a couple of strong innings as captain of Kolkata Knight Riders but was in the firing line as his team failed, while Ryder, Oram and Scott Styris had largely forgettable tournaments. In the meantime, Franklin has enjoyed a productive stint with Gloucestershire and O'Brien has been acclimatising with Leicestershire.

Squad: Daniel Vettori (capt), Neil Broom, Ian Butler, Brendon Diamanti, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum (wk), Nathan McCullum, Peter McGlashan (wk), Kyle Mills, Iain O'Brien, Jacob Oram, Jesse Ryder, Scott Styris, Ross Taylor.

Brad Haddin wants Australia to build confidence and rhythm during their two warm-ups for the World Twenty20, starting with a hit-out against Bangladesh on Monday. Haddin has led the team twice this year but hands over to Ricky Ponting for the two-week tournament that begins for Australia at The Oval on Saturday.

Despite the squad's traditional strength in the Test and one-day formats, the team is less certain in the shortest genre and it will be important to fine-tune against Bangladesh and New Zealand over the next two days. "The energy the guys have shown and enthusiasm has been quite good, so we're actually looking forward to getting our teeth into the game," Haddin told AAP.

"With these games you want to get out of it as an individual what you can so you go into the first world game with some confidence and a bit of rhythm under your belt. We haven't won this tournament before so we're pretty keen to make our mark ... it's obviously one piece of silverware we don't have."

Australia have lost three of their six Twenty20 games this year, but Haddin said the beauty of the format was there was "no real form guide". "Any team on a given day can make a mark in the competition because it only takes five overs to turn the game in your favour," he said. "There's no stand-out favourites, so I think it will be an enjoyable tournament and it will be very good viewing for the fans."

	Since the Lahore attacks, Pakistan have only played a low-key ODI series against Australia in the UAE © AFP
Related Links Player/Officials: Younis Khan Series/Tournaments: ICC World Twenty20 Teams: Pakistan

Pakistan's captain, Younis Khan, is ready to turn England into his team's home away from home, and views success in the World Twenty20 as the best way to make his troubled nation smile again.

Since the atrocities outside the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore in March, in which eight security and transport personnel were killed in a terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team bus, Pakistan's cricketers have been forced into exile. They were barred from competing in the IPL, and their only action since the attack was a low-key ODI series against Australia in the UAE.

Now, however, they are on the world stage in a big way, lining up alongside England and Netherlands in the group stage of a competition that, but for a moment's aberration from Misbah-ul-Haq against India in September 2007, they might well have won at the first attempt.

"It is special to be back on the world stage," Younis told reporters at Lord's. "Especially in Twenty20s, and especially in England. We are suffering from not playing regularly, and no-one is coming to Pakistan, but all the time in the last few months I have been talking to the boys, and telling them to do well [in this tournament]. There are a lot of media here, and [if we succeed] we'll be well on our way to our mission, so to speak. It's very important for us."

There has been much talk in recent weeks about overkill of the Twenty20 format, and burn-out of the game's star players, but such issues couldn't be less of a problem for Pakistan, who are desperate to get stuck into some meaningful cricket. "If you don't play regularly, you don't have that match fitness," said Younis. "But the beauty of international cricket is that it is changing all the time in different conditions, so we feel fresh and will do well in England, in'shallah."

Younis admitted his team's security for this tournament had been stepped up from previous visits to England, but added that such a situation had become common-place for Pakistan. Of greater importance was the opportunity that the visit provides his young players, especially with the prospect of a return to England next summer to play a Test series against Australia.

"Playing in England is everyone's dream," said Younis. "I have been over here for county cricket [with Yorkshire], and my first Test at Lord's was fantastic for me. Playing cricket in Pakistan would be better, but we have problems as everyone knows. England is the home of cricket, it will be good for our youngsters to learn to play in any conditions. Sometimes here it rains, sometimes it's hot, sometimes it's cold."

With that in mind, Younis said that his team's tactics would revolve around a more patient game that has sometimes been witnessed in Twenty20 cricket. "I have a couple of plans," he said. "T20 looks short, but it's not - 120 balls is enough. If you bat normally but with energy, especially in the middle order where you need good running between the wickets, [a score of] 180-190 is very easy.

"In English conditions the new ball does seam, so you need someone like Salman Butt who can play for 20 overs. But in the middle order, we have big hitters like Shahid Afridi and Misbah-ul-Haq, he's a top Twenty20 batsman. So we are not lacking in players."

Afridi's power-hitting game might have been designed with Twenty20 cricket in mind, but Younis was careful not to expect him to shred the opposition every innings. "Afridi was one of best players of the last tournament," he said. "As a captain I have a few good players, but the main thing is everyone respects him. He'll come in and though it's not possible to hit every ball for six, the expectation is there. He's always done a good job for me, and he'll do good for Pakistan."

Reflecting on the near-miss in 2007, Younis admitted that there had been a few players in tears at the end of the final in Johannesburg. When five runs were needed for victory, Misbah mistimed an attempted scoop over fine leg and lobbed a simple chance to Sreesanth on the edge of the circle. But he remained confident that his team could achieve at least a top-four finish this time, and maybe even go one better than two years ago.

"The finishing touches were not there in 2007," said Younis. "But it was fantastic to be a part of that team in the final. Some guys were crying at the end, but in T20 everything can change. My confidence is that I'll take this trophy to Pakistan, but if the plan works ins'hallah it'll be an achievement for us to finish in the top four.

"We have a lot of followers all the time in England, and a lot of cities here have Pakistanis and Indians," he said. "That's the main reason I'm happy to be in England. Our fans are fantastic back home, they are lovers of T20, and now it's dependent on us to prove ourselves. If we play good cricket it will be good for our nation. These days the whole nation is depressed, and only cricket [can lift it]. If we play good and win something, they will cheer. To finish in the top four, my nation will come again and start cheering."