Shah is looking to cement a place in the England middle order

They failed to impress at the World Cup in the Caribbean earlier this year and were eliminated before the semi-finals.

But Shah said: "We have a slight advantage over other countries because we play a hell of a lot more Twenty20 compared to them.

"We're no means favourites but we've definitely got a chance of doing well."

The tournament begins on 11 September with hosts South Africa taking on West Indies at Cape Town and concludes 13 days later when the final takes place in Johannesburg.

Shah expects World Cup winners Australia and South Africa, in particular, to prove tough opponents - and Australia are in England's first round group - but he added: "All the teams that play good one-day cricket will be there or thereabouts.

"I think it will be the team that plays well on the day [that wins] because Twenty20 can be a bit of a lottery."

England have chosen a tailor-made squad for the tournament, with Twenty20 specialists Darren Maddy, Chris Schofield, Jeremy Snape and Luke Wright included.

But Shah hopes to use the tournament to press his claims for a further chance in Tests.

He won his second cap against West Indies at the start of the summer, failing in both innings at Lord's, and has been confined to one-day duties since then.

Shah's current form is good, underlined by his century against Northants on Friday, and his next challenge is to take on India in the seven-match NatWest Series, which starts next week.

"Playing against the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan and Sourav Ganguly is one of the greatest challenges in world cricket.