The upcoming ICC T20 World Cup is set to be a batting bonanza.
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On a balmy Friday evening in Lancashire last September the glass ceiling for batting in T20Is was shattered forever.
Much like 400 in ODIs seemed previously unattainable, the 300-run mark was unthinkable. Even in today’s modern batting world, it would still win more 50-over contests than it loses, let alone a T20I.
England were the bullies. The Proteas were the victims. The century mark was breached within the first Powerplay. By the time the halfway point was reached England had bashed their way to 166/1 - the highest total in T20Is after 10 overs.
They ultimately finished on a record 304/2 - belting 30 fours and 18 sixes in the process. It was the local Roses boys that created the chaos. Jos Buttler started the madness with 83 off 30 balls before Phil Salt finished it off with an unbeaten 141 of only 60 balls.
Salt struck exactly half of his team’s boundaries and a further eight maximums en route to England’s highest individual T20I score - which ironically, he was previously the holder of too.
Bigger bats, smaller boundaries and bowler restrictions have long titled the game in the batters’ favour. But whereas totals in the region of 300 was beyond the realms of possibility, it is now the benchmark for teams to chase at the ICC T20 World Cup, which gets underway in India and Sri Lanka on Saturday.
Experts are buzzing with predictions that this 10th edition of the tournament will be nothing short of a slugfest, especially with the placid Indian pitches that tend to favour batting.
The highest total at a T20 World Cup was when Sri Lanka utilised the Johannesburg altitude to full effect, sending the ball flying all over the Wanderers, to post a mammoth 260/6 against Kenya in the inaugural 2007 edition - a record that now faces imminent threat, especially with eight Associate Nations joining the main competition for the first time.
The statisticians will be on high alert for new records when England face T20 World Cup debutants Italy on Monday, 16 February at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
But it is not just England that have raised the bar.
Defending champions India may have seen their batting superstars Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli ride off into the Barbados sunset after their second T20 World Cup victory two years ago at the Kensington Oval, but only to replace them with the sensational Abhishek Sharma at the top of the order.
Abhishek has enjoyed a phenomenal entry to T20 International cricket. The dynamic left-hander has almost single-handedly powered India to top of the standings in Powerplay totals over the past year.
His career strike-rate is an almost unbelievable 194.74. He averages 37.05. And he holds the record for the highest T20I score by an Indian batter when he smashed 135 off 54 balls against England last year.
The USA bowlers will be quaking in their boots ahead of their opening game against the hosts on Saturday at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium - ironically the venue for the highest aggregate in T20 World Cup history when England and South Africa combined for a sum of 459 runs a decade ago.
India have come close to breaching the 300-run barrier before when they fell three runs short against Bangladesh last year. The scary notion for the opposition is the fact that Abishek was dismissed after hitting just one boundary in the 297/6.
England captain Harry Brook certainly believes crossing 300 is attainable over the course of the next month.
“I think there are plenty of grounds in India where there could be a score of 300-plus,” Brook said at the captain’s briefing.
“The wickets look like they are quite good wickets at the minute. Rapid outfields and fairly short boundaries. You have just got to go out there and be fearless. Not worry about getting out and just keep on trying to take the bowlers on as much as possible.”
The Proteas are also not to be discounted, having chased down totals such as 259 and 225, in recent years with ease.
The latter came as recently as last month when Quinton de Kock rubber stamped his return to the international game with a sparkling 115 off 49 balls.
But what about the bowlers? Do they stand a chance at this T20 World Cup? Or will they be reduced to mere bowling machines?
Proteas captain Aiden Markram is of the opinion that it requires an entire mindshift change.
“It's moving forward quickly nowadays. It's probably got to a stage where you're not looking at winning overs, but probably just small groups of balls, really, at the end of the game,” Markram said.
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“I think grouping a couple of good balls together makes a big difference. So you feel sorry for the bowlers. It's not an easy gig, especially when you get to a country where the wickets are really, really good.
“Boundaries can be a little bit smaller, and the batters really enjoy themselves. So it's a nice opportunity and challenge for the bowlers. That's sort of how our unit sees it. And they're going to take that challenge on. The odds are probably stacked against them, but they're going to focus on the challenge and getting to the battle and sort of see where they end up at the end of it.”
Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan echoed Markram’s sentiments about the mental approach.
“As a bowler, you can't really think about (a team) scoring 200 or 300, if you have that in the mind, I think it is going to happen,” Rashid said.
“I never accept that the team is going to score 200 or 180. You always come with a positive mindset of restricting as low as possible. If you keep that energy around the group, that they are going to score 250 or 300, trust me, it is going to happen.
“But it is all about the mindset. If they are coming with their mindset of scoring too many runs, I think you have to be having those kinds of skills, how you can drop it down. I think that is when the experience comes in. When the condition is not much in your favor, you bring your skills into the game.”
The last T20 World Cup in India culminated in dramatic fashion with West Indian Carlos ‘Remember The Name’ Brathwaite smashing England’s Ben Stokes for four successive sixes in the last over to earn his team a second world title.
By all accounts, this T20 World Cup is set to produce similar high drama with bat threatening to dominate ball yet again.