The Nightwatchmen: Who wins the ICC Men's T20 World Cup?

The pair will look at what's happening within cricket in and around Dubbo across the 2022/23 season.

Nearly 12 months after winning the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, Australia will have a chance to defend their crown on home soil with the competition beginning on Saturday evening.

Leading into the tournament it seems like any of the top five or six teams can win the World Cup. So, who will take home the silverware? Which team will surprise the world? Who will take the most wickets and score the most runs?

Well, we'll do our best to predict those answers right now.

In my opinion, Australia win back-to-back World Cups. It's as simple as that.

While I do believe the home side will win, I don't think it will be an easy tournament by any means. I love the look of South Africa with guys like Kagiso Rabada and Aiden Markram, which is why I've named them as my team to look out for.

The only concern for Australia is what they do with the trio of Steve Smith, Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell.

For me, Maxwell is a lock in the side until he retires. He offers enough with the ball while being Australia's best fielder and runs will come for him, I think he is just too good to leave out.

I feel Smith and Finch could be fighting for the same spot. If Finch wasn't captain I don't think he would be in the side.

His opening partner, David Warner has shown a few really positive signs ahead of the opening match against New Zealand at the SCG so it was tough to pick against him as top run-scorer, especially after he won player of the tournament last year.

I've got with Markram to score the most runs for the tournament. Pakistan's Babar Azam will be up there but Markram for me is just too hard to ignore.

Currently ranked fourth in the ICC Rankings, the South African batter will need a big tournament if his country are to go far and break their curse of choking on the big stages.

When it comes to wickets spin will win. It's this thought process which has pushed me towards Rashid Khan.

The leg-spinner has more experience than any other non-Australian player on our shores and is near impossible to pick.

Throw-in the fact he bowls nearly 100km/h and you can see why some players look clueless facing him.

I hate England as much as any Australian but I think Jos Buttler is too good to go past for player of the tournament. England's skipper looked unreal against Australia earlier this month and I think he could be in for a big tournament.

Top run-scorer: Aiden Markram (South Africa)

Most wickets: Rashid Khan (Afghanistan)

Winner: Australia

Player of the Tournament: Jos Buttler (England)

We might not be getting much cricket in here with all this rain but we can still look forward to some play at the World Cup.

Australia hasn't been at its absolute best recently and there's been plenty of debate about the make-up of the side but I don't think that matters a whole lot. When the competition proper begins this is a side loaded with experienced campaigners who know what it takes to win tournaments.

I have the Aussies down as the favourite for that reason. It would classic 'big game player' if Aaron Finch or Glenn Maxwell were to turn it on in the World Cup and dominate with the bat after some lean times. I can see Maxwell doing just that and being key for us.

England, I think, are the big danger. Yes, there's the likes of Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler but I think they're a major threat because of Mark Wood. He bowls genuinely quick and is aggressive as well. He proved his quality in the Ashes here and if the pitches aren't too rain-affected and slow he could be a real weapon for the Poms and drive them deep into the tournament.

In terms of spinners, I also love Rashid Khan but I worry how much bowling he'll be able to do. If Afghanistan bats first in a group with Australia, England and New Zealand then he might be stuck defending low totals. I think our own Adam Zampa could be the top spinner at this tournament.

While I think the winner will come from that group mentioned above, the other could have some of the standout individuals of the tournament. Babar Azam of Pakistan is a star and really one to watch when he gets to the crease and teammate Mohammad Rizwan is also one of the best short-form batsmen going around. This Pakistan side is a real threat and I think Shaheen Shah Afridi will be another star with the ball.

I've already said Zampa is my pick of star performer with the ball, but I think the World Cup could be dominated by pace overall.

Zampa will thrive on the pressure created by the likes of Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazelwood and looking elsewhere there's Wood, Shaheen, Kagiso Rabada, Trent Boult, Mohammad Shami, Alzarri Joseph and many others. There's a lot to like about the quicks who are gracing our shores at the moment.

For player of the tournament, I'll play it safe and say Ben Stokes. He'll get through plenty of overs and that, combined with his powerhouse batting and the quality of his side, has him very well-placed.

Top run-scorer: Babar Azam (Pakistan)

Most wickets: Adam Zampa (Australia)

Winner: Australia

Player of the Tournament: Ben Stokes (England)

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