The adverts for the ICC World Twenty20 show an elderly MCC member sporting a Panama and the obligatory bacon-and-egg striped tie. He also has a St George cross daubed on either cheek, underneath the caption "Everybody's game". It's hogwash, of course. Cricket traditionalists hate Twenty20. It's vulgar, vacuous, dazzling and only lasts for an evening. Which of course means that everyone else loves it. Twenty20 works.
The first World Twenty20 in South Africa in 2007 was a conspicuously rare success for the ICC. Only five months earlier they had contrived to organise a World Cup in the Caribbean that was a strong contender for being the worst major sports tournament ever staged. The World Twenty20 was the perfect antidote.
Tickets were as low as £1.50 so attendances were good even for the most obscure fixtures. There were shocks - Zimbabwe beat Australia - and the organisers got their ideal final, India defeating Pakistan by five runs. The TV audience on the subcontinent made the final the 10th most-viewed sports event of 2007. No wonder they decided to stage another one just 20 months later, this time in England.
The format is, again, irritatingly contrived to ensure the biggest teams have the best chance. The 12 sides are divided into four groups of three, with the top two from each progressing to a Super Eights stage. The organisers do not like costly upsets and there's only one group in which the likely qualifiers are not already obvious - C, which includes Australia, the West Indies and Sri Lanka. The top four from the Super Eights enter the semi-finals. In all, there are 27 matches, played at just three venues - Lord's, the Oval and Trent Bridge. The eight-team Women's World Twenty20 is running simultaneously, with all pool matches at Taunton.
The World Twenty20 will be a test of the public's continuing hunger for the game. There are no £1.50 tickets this time, with prices for the final as high as £90. Still, the matches are being staged in pairs, back-to-back, so if anyone does get momentarily bored, it's no worry. Another match, another six, another wicket will be along soon enough.
Short form heroes: four to watch
Shahid Afridi, Pakistan
Oddly, Afridi, one of the most dashing players ever to have held a bat, is one of Geoff Boycott's favourite cricketers. In his first international innings he set the record for the fastest one-day century. It took just 37 balls. He has become one of the game's most exciting stars in the 13 years since.
Ellyse Perry, Australia
The England team are the current world champions, but Perry is the golden girl of women's cricket. She made her international debut in 2007, aged 16, and quickly became the pin-up of the Australian team. A tall, fast-bowling all-rounder, she also plays international football.
Mitchell Johnson, Australia
Johnson's form will shape the course of the summer, with the World Twenty20 just a warm-up to the Ashes. A left-arm fast swing bowler who recently scored his first Test century, his contribution to the Twenty20 will show England just how worried they should be.
Jesse Ryder, New Zealand
Ryder is a hellraiser who recently fell off the wagon after months of sobriety, self-imposed after he punched out a window in a nightclub toilet. His behaviour and weight are excessive, but so is his talent. He's a gifted batsman, who scored 201 against India this year.
England: who holds the Key?
England invented Twenty20 cricket so, naturally enough, are not very good at it. This time they also have the advantage of home conditions, which probably makes them especially likely to lose. In 2007 the selectors made a brave attempt to capitalise on their head-start by selecting several obscure Twenty20 specialists from the county circuit (Jeremy Snape, Chris Schofield and Darren Maddy). In the end they won just one of their five matches, beating Zimbabwe. This time they are led by Paul Collingwood and only two canny old pros have been picked, Kent's Rob Key and Essex keeper James Foster, neither of whom has played for England in four years.
The revolution by numbers
158: Most runs in an innings. Brendon McCullum, Kolkata v Bangalore, 2008
67: Most runs conceded in an innings (four overs). James Kirtley,Sussex v Essex, 2008
119m: Longest six hit in the 2007 World Twenty20. Yuvraj Singh India v Australia
260-6: Highest innings total. Sri Lanka v Kenya, 2007
4-0-14-6: Best bowling figures in an innings. Sohail Tanvir Rajasthan v Chennai, 2008
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