By Oliver Brett BBC Sport Online

A look at six batsmen sure to get the crowds on their feet at the ICC Champions Trophy.

Adam Gilchrist - strike rate 89.60 runs per 100 balls, PwC ratings - eighth

Gilchrist bats with great panache

Arguably the best wicket-keeper batsman ever seen, Gilchrist is a merciless slayer of poor bowling, and when he is well set on a good pitch even the best bowlers struggle to contain him.

Thus far in his career he has reserved his greatest innings for the Test arena, although it should not be forgotten that it was his form in one-day cricket that got him into the Test side.

His most recent innings of high quality in the one-day arena was a murderous assault of Nantie Hayward and co back in April.

Gilchrist hit 104 off 105 balls at Kingsmead as Australia reached an unassailable 4-0 lead in the seven-match series against South Africa.

Marcus Trescothick - strike rate 87.59, PwC ratings - seventh

Another left-handed opener who is never afraid to trust his eye when facing the new ball, Trescothick is also probably the best exponent of the slog sweep for six.

Spinners do not often get a huge amount of joy once the Somerset man has his eye in, and he should be fully recovered after fracturing his thumbs halfway through the summer.

Trescothick came into the England side at a time when they were one of the weakest one-day teams around, principally because they lacked a reliable, aggressive batsman.

And the success they have had since then has often come on the back of a big Trescothick score. That said, he has hit three one-day centuries, and every time England have lost the match!

Nathan Astle - strike rate 72.63, PwC ratings - 26th

Astle is New Zealand's star batsman

Twelve one-day centuries have flowed from the bat of this aggressive middle-order batsman whose footwork and timing are frequently a joy to behold.

His most recent century at this level came against England at Dunedin in February in the deciding match of the one-day series between the two teams.

Astle's efforts with the bat won that particular match, and in the first Test against England immediately afterwards he smashed the fastest-ever double century in Tests.

In a losing cause, Astle hit 11 sixes and 28 fours, pummelling 222 runs in less than four hours at the crease.

Sourav Ganguly - strike rate 72.63, PwC ratings - 10th

Sachin Tendulkar may top the rankings, but India's nomination has to be Ganguly, because his game is so well-suited to one-day cricket.

He can hit almost any ball through the covers for four when the fielding restrictions at the start of the innings allow it.

And if he's still there when the spinners come on he will dance down the track and use his feet to loft them for sixes.

What Ganguly hates doing is fielding, but what he can do is produce a handy few overs with the ball if required.

Sanath Jayasuriya - strike rate 89.70, PwC ratings - 2nd

Not as consistent these days as he has been and usually vulnerable early on especially if new ball bowlers can get the ball to move away from him.

But if you don't snare Jayasuriya early on, forget it. This guy will batter slow bowling all over the park for fun and make a mockery of bowlers' analyses.

The only man to hit 30 runs in an over at this level, when hitting Pakistan's Aamir Sohail for four consecutive sixes in Singapore, he repeated the feat against Kiwi Chris Harris in Sharjah in 2000-01.

Sri Lanka will be glad to have their captain fit after a recent injury scare.

Shahid Afridi - strike rate 100.54, PwC ratings - 34th

His lowly position in the ratings is contrasted by his remarkable strike rate and the fact is Afridi doesn't really do defence.

The Karachi big-hitter, still only 22, has a poor average of 24.62 at this level, but rivals Jayasuriya in his capabilities, having twice hit 28 in an over.

Inevitably he has his critics back home who feel he could deliver so much more if he didn't try to hit every ball out of the ground.

Afridi also bowls some handy slow medium leg-breaks that can occasionally be highly effective at this level.