'Pack your side with all-round ability'

How does the role of the coach change in Twenty20?
Mickey Arthur The game happens so quickly, you almost empower the players to do their thinking on their feet because there is no time for change of strategies or anything like that.

We are a very young and inexperienced side at the moment, so we are doing a lot of technical work with the guys in terms of thinking on their feet. We are having a lot of chats along with match simulations, and trying to recreate the real-time pressure by getting the batsmen to have a go at the bowlers.

Trevor Bayliss I don't think there's too much difference with the basics of the cricket. It's just the way the players explore the outer reaches of their skill levels.

You have to get the players to try and master new things - try and get batsmen to hit in areas that they don't in the normal games, and get the bowlers to bowl more yorkers and slower balls and variations than they might do in the longer form of the game.

How much of a challenge is it, given the dynamic nature of Twenty20, for a player to think on his feet?
TB Very much so, but international players are able to do that when they play for their country. It will be another step up, probably, in terms of tension in the shorter space of time that Twenty20 offers and it'll be interesting to see which players are capable of handling the pressure.

Going into the World Cup, have you tapped the brains of domestic coaches or players with Twenty20 experience?
MA I have spoken not only to the domestic coaches but also to players who have played Twenty20 in England.

The important factor is going to be fielding, which is going to be hugely crucial. We need to be an unbelievable fielding unit. We need to change trends - those might be death bowling, shot-making, running between the wickets, and a whole host of things. Then we are looking at variations, such as in our bowling line-up and when to use particular bowlers in particular situations.

Is Twenty20 for specialists only or for players who are best at what they can do and can adapt to make up for their deficiencies in certain areas?
TB We haven't had a lot of experience in this version, so I can't actually say what type of players excel at Twenty20. It's only the South Africans and the English who have played a number of Twenty20 domestic games. These teams are now in a position to pick only Twenty20 players rather than one-day or Test players. So it's quite possible that once all the other teams understand a bit more about the game, have a bit more experience in the game, it might happen that all teams will end up with some players who are going to be specialists.

To be a good Twenty20 outfit you need to have options in your team where you have guys who can bring all-round skills rather than be one-dimensional. It just gives your team more options during the course of the game.

MA Twenty20 is for young, dynamic players. You can't risk playing experience. Experience can get you through the big moments of a game, but you have to be sound in all areas of the game when it comes to Twenty20. For example, as a bowler you've to be able to bowl upfront, be able to bowl at death, ,possess all the variations possible; that's what we are looking for in our bowlers.

In our batters we are looking for dynamic guys who can get to the wicket and hit the first ball out of the ground, guys who are not going take too much time to get themselves in, guys who are really athletic. Those are the guys who are going to be the vital ingredients of our side, and of the side that is going to win the Twenty20 World Cup. You need to pack your side with as much all-round ability as you possibly can - guys who can bat, bowl and field.

In the absence of any data to mine, what do you rely on to counter the opposition?
MA There haven't been many Twenty20 internationals, but there have been quite a few games played around the world, so we're able to study the opposition a little. We have a fair amount of footage to work on, though not as much as we normally do.

What is crucial is to know what the opposition offers and knowing your opposition. Yes, it will have to be a little bit instinctive, and it will come down to how the players are able to read situations and respond and react to those situations at any given time without a message coming from the bench, because there is not enough time for that.

TB We have got a lot of players with lot of experience, so most of the information will come from the players themselves. And with the analysis tools to back up the player information it could help us have an edge over the opposition.

Of all three departments - batting, bowling and fielding - which do you think has the biggest match-winning potential?
TB Fielding. You've got to be on top of your game the whole time in this area. Fielding sets the tone and has a strong influence in the Twenty20 format. Of course, all three departments are very important, but if you can't take the catches, and can't make run-outs, and keep making misfields, then it shows a lack of confidence.

MA In a funny sort of way your fielding and batting are going to be taken for granted. All sides are going to bat pretty much the same, there is not a lot of stroke variation to separate teams. Instead I expect most of the international teams to be very profound in their skills with the ball. At international level you expect bowling attacks to bowl variations at will and to bowl them consistently.

Of course, the ability to cut runs down in the field is going to be one of the determining factors - games are won or lost by thin margins and if you have an athletic fielding unit then you can change the result of the game.

Have you tried any new techniques and strategies in the nets?
MA Strategies are going to be very important and strategies will come down to the conditions at the various venues - wickets in Cape Town are going to the very different to the ones in Durban and Johannesburg. In Twenty20 cricket the ability to improvise, the ability to hit balls in funny areas, which causes different fields, is going to make the game more exciting.

TB Not any techniques, but we are looking at players not only playing to their strengths but finding new areas to improvise on.

Do you think this World Cup will throw up innovative techniques like we saw with pinch-hitting during the 1996 World Cup?
MA One has to take advantage of the Powerplay overs and we will be seeing batting orders that go all the way down to No. 9 or 10.

When we started Twenty20 in our domestic game, teams would see out the first ten overs and then go hell for leather in the final ten, but that has changed now, with teams willing to take the risk right from the beginning.

TB Anything is a possibility. The Twenty20 game is a big change in itself.