Can Yuvraj finish top of the tree?

At first glance, picking the top batsman in a competition as open as the World Twenty20 would seem to be an even bigger lottery than normal. But on closer inspection, this market will come down to, as it almost always does, someone from the top three in each batting line-up who will emerge on top.

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The reason is simple. With only 20 overs at their disposal, the openers have the best chance to have most time at the crease and in Twenty20, if a batsman is in the middle for half of the overs, then it stands to reason that they have the best opportunity to score big runs.

Of course, most sides pack their best batsmen at the top of the order in this format, which makes our job in picking the winner that bit more difficult. But like any format of the sport, there are a number of players who continually excel in Twenty20 and it's from one of their number that the top batsman will almost certainly emerge.

The other thing to take into account is how well a side is likely to do in the competition, for obviously if a side goes to the final, then their batsmen have even more time at the crease. However, it is not the most important factor this time because of the way the tournament has been structured.

There may be one exception, but the vast majority of the top teams should make it through to the Super Eight stage, so while a finalist would be best, the winner could still conceivably come from a side that does not quite make it through to the semi-finals.

We also have the advantage that you can back each-way in this market, with bet365 paying out one quarter of the odds the first five, which should give you a good run for your money. The narrow favourite, at 9/1, is David Warner, the Australia batsman who has been brutal to attacks since bursting onto the scene last year.

He will undoubtedly take some stopping and he has the benefit of playing for Australia, who should go far, but this is his first major tournament and it will be interesting to see how he holds up to the pressure.

Shane Watson, the other Aussie opener, has come of age internationally over the past 12 months and is far more experienced than Warner. He's likely to relish the chance to be the senior partner and will surely attract support at 10/1.

South Africa's Jacques Kallis and Graeme Smith are 10/1 and 12/1 respectively and since South Africa look pretty strong, they could both go well. India's Gautam Gambhir is also 12/1, with West Indies captain Chris Gayle 14/1, Tilllekeratne Dilshan, Murali Vijay, Leon Bosman and Mehal Jayawardene all 16/1.

Kevin Pietersen is the leading England batsman in there, alongside a big group on 20/1, and further down are some of the heavyweights like Yuvraj Singh, at 33/1, a price that can only be because he comes in, generally, at four in the order.

However, with Virender Sehwag having been ruled out through injury on the eve of the tournament, it may be worth taking that 33/1 because one of the options for captain MS Dhoni would be to push Yuvraj up to three, at least, which puts him in contention.

In the outright preview I said that I can see a decent performance from England at last and if that happens, then it will probably because Pietersen and Eoin Morgan are on song. While Pietersen deserves to be around 20/1, bet365 may just be underestimating Morgan at 33/1. Admittedly, he will come in down the order but he is a fine batsman on the way up.

Other potential outside bets include 33/1 chance Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan captain, who will almost certainly have one big innings, and Sri Lanka's old warhorse Sanath Jayasuriya, at 40/1 could be worth a small gamble for any format where running between the wickets is not important plays into his hands.

Cambers' Call Yuvraj Singh to be top batsman - E/W 33/1 bet365
Eoin Morgan to be top batsman - E/W 33-1 bet365
Sanath Jayasuriya to be top batsman - E/W 40/1 bet365
Ends

Please note that odds are correct at time of publication and are subject to change.