Format
Twenty qualifying teams have been divided into four groups of five for this biannual, um, biennial event.
The top two teams from each group will progress to the Super 8 round, which will be split into two groups of four.
The top two teams from each Super 8 pool will move on to the semifinals, with the winners to contest the final on June 30.
The tournament is being jointly hosted by the West Indies and the United States and will run from June 2 to June 30.
Don’t worry, before you can explain cricket to America it’ll all be over.
No regerts
The Black Caps are so confident in their preparation they have elected not to organise any warm-up games before their opening game against Afghanistan, who are thoroughly decent and more than capable of upsetting the Black Caps.
If they slip up in their opening game and lose to the West Indies next up, the tournament is over for them.
They would have gone the way of planking and fidget spinners.
The other two teams in Group C - Uganda and Papua New Guinea - are, well, um, [insert diplomatic term for making up the numbers].
The Black Caps simply must win at least three of their four games to advance to the Super 8 round.
It is a big call not to have any warm-up games, especially when you consider Finn Allen and Devon Conway have been injured and have not played any cricket since February.
Hopefully there will be no regerts.
Why waltz when you can cha-cha-cha?
Is there really room for both Conway (129.02) and Kane Williamson (123.64) in the Black Caps’ top order?
Neither boast a world-beating strike rate and strike rate is everything in T20.
It is the beat, and you do not want to be caught slow dancing when it is disco time, baby.
What if Finn Allen (163.60) holes out in the opening over and Williamson joins Conway in the middle and they fluff about rebuilding while the overs drift by?
Wouldn’t that be condemning the team to a score of around 140 every time?
The Black Caps will have to find a way to get more batting time out of Daryl Mitchell (138.61), Glenn Phillips (143.29), Rachin Ravindra (133.75), Mark Chapman (133.10) and Jimmy Neesham (155.66).
That might mean getting flexible with the order and not always sending Williamson out at first drop.
Die fat and happy
Neehsam has saved some his best shots for X - the social media platform formerly know as Twitter before it was bought by an alien.
His "Kids, don’t take up sport. Take up baking or something. Die at 60 really fat and happy" tweet sailed out of cyber space for a massive six.
He had just played a tremendous cameo in the greatest one-day match in history - the 2019 World Cup final which England won on a boundary countback.
That "loss" still stings, if we are honest. But Neesham told Cricinfo’s The Cricket Monthly: "Walking towards that pressure and wanting to be involved in those big moments is something I've embraced over the last four-five years.
"I think if you have a genuine desire to be involved when the game is on the line then it's almost half the battle [won]."
You want players like that in your side. His shortbread is simply divine.
Bowled over
• West Indies quick Shamar Joseph has been called up for the T20 side on the back of some stunning test performances with the red ball in Australia this year.
He has virtually no white ball experience, but he put the world on notice with his seven-for against the Baggie Greens.
The Black Caps should avoid the highlight reel before their match on June 13.
• Afghanistan leg spinner Rashid Khan is closing in on 600 career T20 wickets in T20- cricket.
He can only bowl four overs each game, but anyone still thinking Afghanistan is a minnow needs to school up quickly.
They are a dangerous side, especially when they win. You know what happens to the bullets fired into the sky over Kabul, right?
• We’ve got Tim Southee, who ... well ... um ... he has been around. This is his seventh T20 World Cup.
You wouldn’t trade him for a Ben Sears or Will O’Rourke, would you?
T20 World Cup
Black Caps Group C draw
June 8: v Afghanistan
June 13: v West Indies
Jun 15: v Uganda
Jun 18: v Papua New Guinea
