Who to side with in Twenty20 opener?

After a summer of mixed fortunes across the different forms of the game, England's three-month tour of South Africa is sure to be a spectacle and send pulses into overdrive for spread bettors and TV viewers alike.

With a number of the touring party having connections to the country - almost any spread punter would be likely to buy big if Sporting Index could run sledging and crowd hostility-related spread markets.

As a consequence media attention will focus on the likes of Kevin Pietersen, Jonathan Trott, Andrew Strauss and Matt Prior, who were all born in the country, but spread bettors looking to get with England will want their cricket to do the talking.

All Three Lions followers will be hoping for a repeat of the Ashes heroics in the Test series here, where any sellers of South Africa team spreads will be opposing the world's number one Test nation.

There was, however, far less success to be found in the quicker variants this summer for the team coached by Andy Flower. The ODI series against the Aussies proved to be a 6-1 mauling, not to mention, huge disappointment for spread punters who got with the side as they failed to shift their minds from the earlier urn recapture.

With that result still fresh in the memory, buyers of South Africa's supremacy for the T20-opener will know the tourists are ICC-ranked sixth among all one day playing nations.

Buyers of South Africa's supremacy spreads will also look back to the last time these two nations met, where the Proteas won by 7 wickets with ten balls to spare in this year's World Twenty20. The match was a good one for spread buyers of Jacques Kallis' runs, as well as his 25-ups after the all-rounder top-scored with 57.

He will certainly be one attracting the attention of cricket spread punters in this game, as will his skipper Graeme Smith. The opener is still only 28-years-old and a formidable batsman, even if his 24.83-run average is below-par in T20 internationals this year. Spread sellers of his performance index will beware of a career average that is higher than 32 and a top-knock of 89 not out and not be looking for a repeat of this type of form.

Pietersen is unlikely to return from injury in time for the matches at Johannesburg or Centurion in the two-game series, meaning that spread punters will be lacking a reliable contender in the runs index.

England's key player could instead be Paul Collingwood. Oft-maligned at Test level, the all-rounder is considered a shoo-in for selection when it comes to this type of cricket. The right-hander has an average of over 21, and a highest-score of 79 which won't have gone unnoticed by spread buyers of his runs.

Punters looking to sell his 25-ups and performance index will hope that he doesn't repeat either of the half-centuries he's hit for England in T20 or add to the six catches he's taken.

However, those spread bettors buying his performance index will explain that he has taken more wickets at this level than in Tests - just above one-per-innings where he's bowled, compared to approximately one-in-three in the five-day game.