Tonight:
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Most traditionalists deride Twenty20 cricket as a glorified slog fest, yet it is the subtlety of spin bowling which appears destined to decide the outcome of this World Cup.
England face their first game of the Super Eight against South Africa - who have looked the strongest side in this tournament - at Trent Bridge tonight, with skipper Paul Collingwood more concerned about the slow bowling of Johan Botha and Roelof van der Merwe than he is about the explosive pace of Dale Steyn.
England used two spinners, Graeme Swann and Adil Rashid, to good effect against Pak istan, while the form of Sri Lanka's Ajantha Mendis and Muttiah Muralitharan, Pakistan's Saeed Ajmal and Shahid Afridi, and the South African pair suggests this is, as Andrew Flintoff predicted, "a spinner's tournament".
In England's win over Pakistan, Rashid and Swann conceded only 51 runs from their eight overs, and their role in applying the brakes, just as batsmen Younus Khan and Shoaib Malik were trying to get things moving, was decisive. Although he did not play for the Delhi Daredevils during the Indian Premier League, Collingwood learned much from his experience in South Africa - including the importance of spinners who can vary the pace and flight.
Collingwood said: "We attacked the Pakistani spinners well, and hopefully we can find ways to score against Botha and Van der Merwe.
"It hasn't surprised me how well the spinners have done, because in the IPL spinners did pretty well. Even when the ball wasn't turning, they still performed pretty well.
"In Twenty20 cricket, you have to score all the way through the innings, whether it is against the seam bowlers at the start or the slower bowlers.
"If you have two or three bad overs when you're batting, you're behind the eight ball and you give the opposition a bit of a sniff."
As they were at The Oval, England can expect a partisan crowd throughout the Super Eight. Collingwood added: "It is a football-style atmosphere. When you play a great shot or take a wicket, you hear a roar, rather than the applause you normally get. It's brilliant."
* Live on Sky Sports 1, 5.30pm
