New Zealand eliminated by impressive England

England 153 for 7 (Morgan 40) beat New Zealand 149 for 6 (Taylor 44) by three wickets

England's cricketers maintained their impressive momentum with their third win in three Super Eight fixtures, as New Zealand were outmuscled in their must-win Group E finale in St Lucia.....Read More &  Image>>

Rain saves England in tense washout

England 120 for 8 (Morgan 45) v Ireland 14 for 1 - match abandoned

England inched their way into the Super Eights after a tense washed-out contest at Providence, as the same Guyana weather that had contributed to their downfall against West Indies came to their aid in a fraught and low-scoring contest against the underdogs of Ireland .....Read more & Picture>>

England fall victim to rain rules

West Indies 60 for 2 (Gayle 25) beat England 191 for 5 (Morgan 55, Wright 45*) - D/L method
West Indies booked their place in the Super Eights with a controversial rain-assisted victory over England at Providence, as Chris Gayle.....Read more>>

Yardy and Bopara star in easy win

England 127 for 3 (Bopara 62) beat Bangladesh 126 for 7 (Yardy 3-20) by seven wickets

England maintained their 100% record in international fixtures against Bangladesh as they launched their World Twenty20 preparations with a comfortable seven-wicket victory at the Kensington Oval. The left-arm spinner Michael Yardy was the star of the show with 3 for 20 in his four overs, before Ravi Bopara marked his return to the national side with a calm 62 from 48 balls, to seal the contest with 17 balls to spare.

Having recently completed their tour of Bangladesh, England knew exactly what to expect from their opponents, and were rarely less than in control of the contest - even though they started a touch sloppily. Imrul Kayes slammed his second ball of the innings from James Anderson over midwicket for six, only to be reprieved by Stuart Broad in the same over.

Broad then overstepped as Mohammad Ashraful top-edged a pull to be caught by the wicketkeeper, Craig Kieswetter, but Kayes fell soon afterwards, caught at third man off Anderson for 14, before the introduction of the spinners cemented England's dominance.

Yardy claimed his first international wicket for almost three years when Ashraful was caught down the leg-side, and he doubled his tally as Aftab Ahmed holed out to Tim Bresnan for 8. In his next over, Shakib Al Hasan was bowled for 7, and when Mushfiqur Rahim was crassly run out for 2, the backbone of the innings had been broken, even though Mahmudullah hung around for a useful 38 not out from 31 balls.

The run-chase was launched by two Twenty20 debutants, Kieswetter and Michael Lumb, who are set to be England's 16th opening pairing in 26 matches when their tournament proper gets underway against West Indies on Monday. Lumb, however, wasn't able to mark his moment in style - he reached 8 from 10 balls before carving Syed Rasel to point.

Kieswetter gave a hint of the fireworks that could follow later in the competition when he blazed a massive six over the imposing 3Ws stand, but on 22 he was bowled neck and crop by a ripper from Shakib that lured him down the track and spun viciously past his flailing bat.

But Bopara and the captain Paul Collingwood guarded against any mishaps in a dominant but measured third-wicket stand of 71 in 56 balls. The only anticlimax from England's point of view came when Bopara ran himself out with the scores level, but by then the job had been done.

England's necessary opening gambit

It was a match which could have passed by without attracting a huge amount of attention. But for an England selection committee that has never settled on even one explosive batsman at the top of the order since Marcus Trescothick began his international exile - let alone a pair of them -
The match in question was an England warm-up ahead of two Twenty20 internationals against Pakistan in February in the United Arab Emirates. The opponents were England's own second-string, the Lions.

James Anderson backs newcomers to perform

James Anderson: feels new recruits Michael Lumb and Craig Kieswetter can help fire England to success at the World Twenty20 in West Indies. The duo are expected to open the batting as Andy Flower tries to find a combination that can take advantage of the fielding restrictions.

If Lumb and Kieswetter are paired together when England face West Indies, in Guyana on May 3, they will become the 16th opening partnership in 26 matches which highlights the indecision that has accompanied the top-order planning. The fact that neither have played a T20 international is a risk, but they impressed Flower when the England Lions beat the full team in Dubai in February and Kieswetter was immediately promoted to the ODI team.

"They're new to the team and they could bring a fearless element to the top of the order," Anderson told reporters ahead of the team's departure from Gatwick. "Michael's been out in the IPL so he's got a lot of Twenty20 experience and they could bring some excitement to the top of the order."

England confirm original World Twenty20 travel plans

England will fly direct to the West Indies from Gatwick on Sunday for the third ICC World Twenty20 tournament.

Alternative plans, including the possibility of sea and land travel, had been explored because of the crisis caused by the Icelandic volcano.

But the England and Wales Cricket Board told BBC Sport that such contingencies were no longer necessary.

And the International Cricket Council confirmed all teams will now revert to their original travel schedules.

England, one of eight teams yet to travel to the Caribbean for the 12-team tournament, could have flown from Dubai, if their scheduled flight from London had remained grounded because of the volcanic ash cloud produced by an eruption in Iceland.

But that would have meant an arduous trip by sea, train and probably air east to the United Arab Emirates - in the wrong direction - before flying back across Europe and the Atlantic to Barbados.

England to play two ICC World Twenty20 warm-up matches

England will prepare for the ICC World Twenty20 with warm-up matches against Bangladesh and South Africa.

Both games are in Barbados, on 28 and 29 April respectively, before England start their Group D campaign against hosts West Indies in Guyana on 3 May.

Defending champions Pakistan have lined up two warm-up games in St Lucia, against a Windward XI and Zimbabwe.

India are the only team to opt against playing any warm-up matches, while Sri Lanka will play just one.

Their decisions may have been influenced by many of their players' involvement in the Indian Premier League, which does not finish until 25 April.

England bowler Graham Onions out of Bangladesh series

England bowler Graham Onions has been ruled out of the two-match Test series against Bangladesh with a back injury.

The Durham paceman suffered the problem in the nets ahead of the first Test in Chittagong on Friday.

"Of course it's frustrating. But on a tour where you only have two weeks to make an impression unfortunately I have run out of time," Onions said.