As we move to the business end of the third ICC World Twenty20 it is maybe the time to look at trends and the trendsetters in the shortest version of the game we all love.

First we have to look at makeup of a successful twenty20 team. The main ingredient is batsmen, but not just any batsmen. You need a batsmen to anchor an innings, someone that scores a lot of their runs along the ground and can keep dot balls to the minimum.

In the recent IPL, Sachin Tendulkar was just that. He scored most of his runs in fours, while only conceded 37% dot balls, thus he kept a high run-rate while reducing the chances of throwing his wicket away.

The next thing would be a healthy percentage left handed players in top-middle order.  Michael Hussey and Kevin Pietersen comes to mind. Both is aggressive and could take the game away from the opposition in an instant.

Then, you need a late-order, long hitter to finish of the innings. Kieron Pollard and Albie Morkel is prime examples of finishers. They smash balls straight out of the park. By hitting straight they reduces the margin for error, much like Lance Klusener did in his golden patch, during the 1999 World Cup.

Twenty20 bowlers is a bit harder to nominate. I would say an aggressive left/right handed opening pair like Dale Steyn and Dirk Nannes are an ideal combination. Together with a clever spinner like Muttiah Muralitharan and Daniel Vettori.

The rest of the team could be filled out with all-round cricketers. Some hard hitters and good fielders.

The average score for a Twenty20 innings is in the 145-160 range. Consequently, batsmen who regularly maintain a run-rate in excess of eight per over and bowlers whose economy rate is under seven are going to help win many matches.

Here is my perfect twenty20 XI:
1.    Sachin Tendulkar
2.    Dave Warner
3.    Jacques Kallis
4.    Kevin Pietersen
5.    Eoin Morgan
6.    Mike Hussey
7.    Mahendra Singh Dhoni
8.    Albie Morkel
9.    Daniel Vettori
10.    Dale Steyn
11.    Dirk Nannes