Underachievers England look for home advantage

England's record in major global competitions is less of a millstone, more a long-discarded supermarket trolley at the bottom of the Regent's Canal. Thirty-four years of hurt stopped them dreaming a long, long time ago, not least in Twenty20 cricket, which may only have been around since 2003, but has been developed at a supersonic pace on the subcontinent in the past 18 months. On the eve of the tournament, Sri Lanka's captain, Kumar Sangakkara, emitted a barely suppressed scoff when reflecting on the fact that England actually invented the game. Not for the first time, they forgot to register the patent.

Nevertheless, a lack of expectation can be liberating. Though Paul Collingwood's pre-tournament pledge to "surprise a few people" wasn't exactly Churchillian in its origins, their combination of home advantage and handy momentum should enable them to surpass their feeble efforts in 2007, when Zimbabwe were their only conquests in five attempts. Let it not be forgotten that the last time the world's leading teams were all gathered in this country, for the Champions Trophy in 2004, England reached the final only to be undone by a memorable West Indian run-chase.

The mistakes that England made in 2007 have, on the face of it, been rectified in the interim. Stuart Broad is an older, wiser and better cricketer than the wide-eyed rookie whom Yuvraj Singh slapped for 36 in an over at Durban, while the so-called Twenty20 specialists that sank without trace in that tournament (Darren Maddy, Chris Schofield, Jeremy Snape and James Kirtley) have been superseded by a new breed; men such as Graham Napier whose world-record 16 sixes for Essex against Sussex in 2007 propelled him to the big-time, and James Foster, whose silken glovework, especially when standing up to the stumps, has increased the value of the slow- and medium-paced members of England's attack.

It's not impossible that England will spring a surprise in this tournament, merely improbable. But even that is an improvement on their prospects in years gone by.

Home advantage might seem a spurious benefit in a 20-over thrash, but England have at least spent the early part of the summer reminding themselves how to take wickets. Their new-ball attack of Broad and James Anderson are as close to the top of their game as they ever have been, while the confidence in the current squad is best exemplified by the irrepressible Graeme Swann, who fine-tuned his second string by smacking 90 not out from 47 balls against Derbyshire last week.

There's no Andrew Flintoff - and while his impact is less dramatic than in years gone by, his absence does mean four fewer overs of bat-rattlingly accurate pace, and one less go-to man for those crucial overs at the death. And then, of course, there is the question of focus. Are England really bothered with this tournament, or are their eyes already trained on Cardiff on July 8?

In every other format, you would surely have to nominate Kevin Pietersen as England's king-pin. But as the man himself admitted last week: "I'm not very good at Twenty20, am I?" His highest score in 35 matches (international, domestic and IPL included) is 79, against Zimbabwe in 2007. Younis Khan said on Sunday that 120 balls is actually a very long time to bat. You sense that Pietersen, ever manic at the crease and in a hurry to impose himself, hasn't yet allowed himself the time to realise this.

Regardless of his lack of success (and dodgy Achilles heel permitting), Pietersen is, of course, crucial to England's fortunes. So too is a man who has taken on board many of his same cocky characteristics, Ravi Bopara. He was England's stand-out performer at the IPL with a sensational 84 from 59 balls for King's XI Punjab, and he translated that confidence into back-to-back hundreds in the West Indies Tests last month.

Six victories, nine defeats, in 15 matches since 2005, though nothing has ever topped that heady first contest against Australia at the Rose Bowl.

Squad: Paul Collingwood (capt), James Anderson, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Andrew Flintoff, James Foster, Robert Key, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Eoin Morgan, Graham Napier, Kevin Pietersen, Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann, Luke Wright