Cricket's Twenty20 superstars: 10 & 9

10. David Warner

The stats | M: 243 | NO: 25 | Runs: 7668 | HS: 135no | Ave: 35.33 | SR: 143.51 | 100s: 6 | 50s: 59

The story: From bursting onto the international stage as a 22-year-old dynamo to leading Australia to a tri-series title as a season pro, David Warner has been Australia’s most consistent, and best, T20 batsman. His list of strengths is as long as his repertoire of shots, which is to say a diverse collection few in the world can lay claim to matching. His attack-at-all-costs mindset as a batsman has brought about a wealth of success, not only in silverware but in his pocket – Warner is perhaps Australia’s highest-paid T20 player ever thanks to huge contracts in the IPL. And it’s in India where he’s really made a name for himself as a T20 gun – topping the IPL season run-scorer’s list twice and guiding his team, Sunrisers Hyderabad, to the 2016 title. While he can no longer lead Australia due to the sanctions imposed by Cricket Australia for his involvement in the Cape Town ball-tampering incident, he finished his national captaincy career with eight wins from nine games in charge including an undefeated tri-series against England and New Zealand earlier this year. Warner is must-watch television no matter what team he represents, which will next be the Winnipeg Hawks in the Global T20 tournament in Canada.

The signature move: Nobody in world cricket plays the switch hit better. Other batsmen swap hands but Warner completely transforms from a left-hander to a right-hander with a lightning jump and mid-air pivot. It’s a high-risk shot that has brought him bulk rewards over his T20 career.

The performance: We can’t go past his very first T20 international, that stunning 89 on debut against South Africa at the MCG in 2009. Picked from obscurity without a first-class match under his belt, Warner flayed a star-studded Proteas attack – led by champion quick Dale Steyn – to all parts of the packed sporting coliseum. His swivel scoop to send Steyn for six over deep backward square-leg was utterly jaw-dropping and just a glimpse of his enormous talent. He was caught on the boundary in search of his seventh six in an innings that was the first step on his way to becoming Australia’s leading run-scorer in the game’s shortest format. 

9. Shahid Afridi

The stats | M: 275 | W: 301 | Ave: 21.85 | Econ: 6.67 | SR: 19.6 | BB: 5-7 | NO: 28 | Runs: 3904 | HS: 101 | Ave: 18.59 | SR: 156.03 | 50s: 9 

The story: With a nickname like 'Boom Boom' it is little wonder Shahid Afridi is seen as a player who epitomises the crash-bang-wallop nature of Twenty20 cricket. The casual observers, and even his fans, can hurry to get caught up in his all-guns-blazing attitude at the crease, and it is easy to do so, since it is backed up by a hitting ability few have been able to match. But as with all great players, there has been more to Afridi than initially meets the eye. As a leg-spinner, he has been lethal, and in the shortest format, even pioneering; at the first two World T20 tournaments, he was mesmerizing, creating a blueprint for other spinners to follow. He is also the leading wicket-taker in the history of T20 Internationals, and just last year smashed his maiden T20 hundred – a rollicking 42-ball effort for Hampshire.

The signature move: Afridi doesn't care where or how he hits the ball, as long as it goes for six, so we'll focus on his bowling instead. In his pomp, his most dangerous weapon was a deceptive quicker one, which seemed to drift, skid and zero in on the stumps before the batsman – who was invariably trapped lbw or bowled – knew what had happened.

The performance: Afridi was player of the tournament at the 2007 World T20 but it was his player-of-the-match efforts in the semi-final and final of the 2009 edition which cemented the legend. Against South Africa in the semi-final, he top-scored with 51 from 34 before bowling Herschelle Gibbs and AB de Villiers in the space of four balls to knock the impetus out of the Proteas' chase. Then in the decider at Lord's against Sri Lanka, he took 1-20 (the only bowler to go for fewer than six runs per over) and then hit a mature, composed 54 not out to guide his team to the title

Cricket.com.au's T20 Superstars countdown - a tribute to the best players to have graced the sport's shortest format - will continue across the next fortnight.