Anderson and Broad reach landmark totals in rainy summer

LEGENDARY bowlers James Anderson and Stuart Broad reached major wicket landmarks as England won both of their rain-hit Test series this summer.

Anderson - who already held the status of England's all-time leading wicket taker - became the first ever fast bowler in history to reach 600 scalps on the final day of the last Test of the summer.

Earlier in the season, Broad - on the last day of the third Test against the West Indies - became only the seventh bowler to take 500 wickets in Test cricket by dismissing Kraigg Brathwaite.

Coincidentally, Anderson had also reached the milestone of 500 wickets against Braithwaite in 2017.

For the most part, though, this summer has been an exercise in frustration with all six Test matches affected by the weather at some point.

Renowned slow series starters England were at it again in the first Test against the West Indies, falling to 87-5 on their way to 204 all out.

West Indies replied with a score of 318, despite Ben Stokes's 4-49 before England gave themselves some hope by compiling 313 in the second innings. 

Chasing 200 exactly, the men from the Caribbean struggled against the pace of Mark Wood and Jofra Archer, and were reduced to 100-4 with opener John Campbell also going off injured.

However, Jermaine Blackwood hit an assured 95 and the Windies eased to their target with four wickets to spare for a 1-0 lead.

The result meant England had lost the opening Test in each of their previous five series - and, with only two more matches to be played in this particular series, Joe Root's men were already up against it. 

In the second Test, the hosts responded well - and opener Dom Sibley (120) and Stokes (176) both hit centuries to set up a declaration on 469-9.

West Indies looked solid enough in reply at 242-4 - but Broad came up with one of those spells seen so many times before to take the wickets of Blackwood, Shane Dowrich, and Shamarh Brooks. 

Young spinner Dom Bess then joined in and suddenly the Windies were all out for 287.

To their credit, the tourists had beaten the follow-on target - but, with a big lead, England had another route to victory: quick runs and 10 wickets.

In pursuit of the first of those aims, England promoted World Cup winners Jos Buttler and Stokes - however, it did not exactly go to plan.

Buttler was out for a duck and number three Zak Crawley (11) followed shortly afterwards, both being undone by Kemar Roach.

Stokes was still there though - and, dominating the scoring in partnerships with Root and Ollie Pope, the Durham all-rounder made 78 not out as England went at more than six-per-over to declare on 129-3.

For the first time in the series, England had the West Indies right where they wanted them - and the tourists quickly collapsed to 37-4.

A recovery of sorts was staged by Blackwood and Brooks - but, from the last ball before tea, the former was caught behind off Stokes. 

Dowrich was then out in the first full over following the interval - and, once Sam Curran trapped Brooks lbw, even the Windies' hopes of a draw were up in smoke. 

The third Test performance was probably the most dominant by England this summer, despite the loss of a whole day of play for the second match in a row. 

Pope made 91, Buttler 67 and Broad (62) even returned to form with the bat as England made a competitive 369 to start off the decider. 

That proved more than enough as Broad, in inspired form, took 6-31 to bowl the West Indies out for just 198.

Again, the visitors had at made it past the follow on target - but, in contrast to the need for speed in the second Test, there was still enough time for England to strangle the life out of their opponents with slow and steady accumulation.

Rory Burns made 90 off 163 balls and Sibley 56 off 132 as England produced their first century opening stand in Tests since a match against India in December 2016. 

The scoring rate increased when Root replaced Sibley, who was lbw to Jason Holder, and England declared on 226-2 on the fall of Burns's wicket. 

Holder's men required 399 to win - but, with the score on 10-2 at the end of the third day, they never looked like pulling it off. 

The fourth day was a washout but the Windies were beaten before tea on the fifth, bowled out for 129 as Chris Woakes took 5-50 and Broad collected match figures of 10-67.

England had regained the Wisden Trophy for one last time with the honour now retired and replaced by the Richards-Botham Trophy, named after Sir Viv Richards and Sir Ian Botham. 

For the record, the West Indies won 14 of the 28 series and 48 of the 120 Tests in the Wisden Trophy. England won 10 series and 36 Tests while four series and 36 Tests were drawn. 

Nevertheless, the result this summer means the West Indies have still not won a Test series in England since 1988.

Pakistan were next up and arrived defending a 10-year unbeaten record against England.

Effectively, though, their chance of achieving this came and went within the four days of the first Test, such was the weather towards the end of the series.

Yet it could have very easily been Pakistan who walked away from the campaign with a 1-0 win, considering they dominated for long periods of the opening match.

Shan Masood made 156 to steer the Pakistanis to 326 in the first innings of the series - and England, once again, started badly with the bat.

Root's men were reduced to 12-3 and had middle and lower order players such as Pope (62), Buttler (38), and Broad (29 not out) to thank for dragging the side to a total of 219.

That was still in excess off 100 runs short of Pakistan - but it was almost then at that point as if the tourists could not believe the position which they were in, and they failed badly to push on in their second innings.

By the close of day three, Pakistan were 137-8 - and, while that was still a seemingly handy lead of 244, England sensed they had found their way back into the game.

Within three overs of the start of day four, the match had moved into its final chapter with Pakistan dismissed for 169, a lead of 276.

Time, therefore, was not an issue for England - but, unfortunately, batting under pressure appeared to be, and - at 117-5 - the target suddenly looked a long way off. 

Enter Buttler (75) and Chris Woakes, with the latter making 84 not out in a sixth-wicket partnership of 139 to put England on the brink.

Still, there threatened to be a final twist when Yasir Shah trapped both Buttler and Broad lbw in quick succession. 

But player of the match Woakes, whose many fine contributions with the ball is so often overshadowed by Anderson and Broad - looked assured with the bat and he guided England safely home.

Without any crowd in attendance, it was not quite the same as that chase at Headingley last year - but the same sort of relief was palpable.

It is important, though, that Root's side are aware that successful chases after the concession of a big deficit will always be special, simply because they are uncommon. Certainly, they should not be relied upon too regularly.

Nevertheless, the chase demonstrated an encouraging determination not to give in - and ended up effectively being enough to win the series.

After all, the second Test became a collosal farce and, altogether, an absolute waste of time. 

True, the weather made it unlikely there was ever going to be a result - but the umpires' overly-cautious bad light reading on the first day caused problems for them for the rest of the match.

Worse still, the early abandonment on day four made no sense whatsoever with photographs from reporters on Twitter presenting a completely empty cricket ground bathed in sunlight.

At least there had actually been some play on that fourth day as Pakistan finally completed their first innings with wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan scoring 72 out of a total of 236.

However, the overhead cloud and humid conditions were like something out of a dream for bowlers and a nightmare for the batsmen. 

Opener Rory Burns, who struggled across the summer, was dismissed for an entirely forgivable duck in the first over of the England reply - and only four more overs followed before the rain returned. 

The weather cleared up towards the end of the afternoon but there appeared to be little desire to get the game restarted - and the delay continued beyond lunch on the fifth day. 

At that point, there was a certain sense of wonderment as to why the players bothered to come out play at all for the short period in which they eventually did. The match had, long before that point, become utterly pointless.

For the record, there were 45.4 overs on day one, 40.2 overs on day two, a complete washout on day three, 10.2 overs on day four, and 38.1 overs on day five.

Altogether, the total of 134.3 overs corresponds to just under one-and-a-half days worth of play - and, in worse news still, the forecast for the third Test was not looking overly clever either.

Thankfully, there was a full day of play on the first day - and it featured the first half of a partnership between Crawley (267) and Buttler (152) which, at 359 runs, ended up becoming an all-time England record for the fifth wicket.

Oddly, despite the poor forecast for the second half of the match, England continued to bat even once both centurions were out, before belatedly declaring on the fall of Broad's wicket with the score on 583-8. 

Under-pressure Pakistan captain Azhar Ali responded to his critics in excellent manner with 141 not out - but it still was not enough to prevent his team from falling short of the follow on target as Anderson picked up 5-56 to move his career total onto 598.

The Lancashire bowler probably should have made it to 600 quicker than he did but two dropped catches in the slip cordon in the same over by Burns and Sibley left him fuming. 

Anderson's mood became worse again in his next over when Broad dropped an absolute dolly at mid-on, although he did immediately make amends with a superb, instinctive throw to run out Abbas with a direct hit.

To the great relief of everyone, Sibley took the next chance to come from Anderson's bowling - with Naseem Shah out for a duck - and Pakistan were all out for 273.

England duly enforced the follow on as gloomy skies enveloped the Ageas Bowl - far darker than those which had caused the abandonment of play in the second Test. 

Perhaps, the umpires were overcompensating for their timidity in the previous week - and spinner Bess certainly thought this was the case.

The poor conditions will also likely provide some explanation for the dropped catches, especially considering the cherry-red colour of the new ball.

Remarkably, though, Anderson suffered a fourth drop off his bowling at the start of the fourth day as Buttler - who was otherwise in impeccable form with the gloves - put down a simple chance.

Anderson later took the field out of the equation altogether by trapping Abid Ali lbw for wicket number 599 - but he was made to wait overnight again for his landmark moment. 

It eventually came in the final session of an otherwise unremarkable fifth day in another match which was rapidly heading towards a draw. 

Skipper Azhar became the famous victim of the Burnley Express, caught at slip by the opposing captain Root off a ball which found a bit of extra bounce.

Sadly, of course, there was no crowd to see this historical achievement in the flesh due to coronavirus - but, even at the age of 38, Anderson shows no sign of stopping or, indeed, of decline. 

Looking ahead, the England Test team have a fascinating 18 months in front of them with tours in the notoriously difficult sub-continent region of Sri Lanka and India at the start of 2021.

Next summer, India are scheduled to play a return series of five Tests in England before the next Ashes series, away in Australia, follows at the end of next year. 

For now, England remain a promising team - Sibley, Crawley and Pope have contributed to a more settled batting line-up alongside Root and Stokes, and one which has shown it can perform under pressure. 

Burns, despite scoring just 20 runs in his last four innings, retains some credit from earlier successes - and, in any case, his lack of runs against Pakistan was offset by the welcome return to form with the bat by Buttler in red-ball cricket.

In the bowling ranks, there is healthy competition for places with Woakes the most impressive outside of Anderson and Broad, leaving Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and Sam Curran all battling it out for just a single place.

Young Bess continues to show some good signs but, at 22, there is still much for him to learn and better sides might expose his inexperience. 

In general against the stronger sides, England cannot afford to start as slowly as they have been, and they desperately need to improve their catching which remains mediocre. 

Simply put, India and Australia - the two best sides in the world - will not allow England to wiggle off the hook especially on their own patch. 

Root's side are already now playing catch-up in the World Test Championship following the defeat to the West Indies and the draws against Pakistan, having now also played a series more than Australia. 

Nevertheless, Australia and India are due to play each other before the end of this godforsaken year and then, as mentioned, England play the Indians twice in 2021.

The chance remains for England to barge their way into the top two and the one-off Test Championship match at Lord's - but can they step it up when it matters in a massive 2021 for the team? 

You never know - if England can pull it off and win the Ashes back Down Under, Anderson might finally be able to retire in the satisfaction that he can achieve nothing more.

WORLD TEST CHAMPIONSHIP ▪️ ENGLAND WON THE SERIES 2-1
WISDEN TROPHY

08-12 Jul	(1) West Indies 318 & 200-6 beat England 204 & 313 by four wickets	Southampton
16-20 Jul	(2) England 469-9d & 129-3d beat West Indies 287 & 198 by 113 runs	Old Trafford
24-28 Jul	(3) England 369 & 226-2d beat West Indies 197 & 129 by 269 runs	Old Trafford

WORLD TEST CHAMPIONSHIP ▪️ ENGLAND WON THE SERIES 1-0

05-08 Aug	(1) England 219 & 277-7 beat Pakistan 326 & 169 by three wickets	Old Trafford
13-17 Aug	(2) England 110-4 drew with Pakistan 236	Southampton
21-25 Aug	(3) Pakistan 273 & 187-4 drew with England 583-8d	Southampton

ICC WORLD TEST CHAMPIONSHIP ▪️ LATEST STANDINGS

Pos		Series Won	Tests Won	Tests Drawn	Tests Lost	Points	Runs Per Wicket	Remain
(1)	INDIA	3	7	0	2	360	2.011	240
(2)	AUSTRALIA	2	7	1	2	296	1.604	360
(3)	ENGLAND	3	8	3	4	292	1.223	240
(4)	NEW ZEALAND	1	3	0	4	180	0.883	360
(5)	PAKISTAN	1	2	3	3	166	0.853	300
(6)	SRI LANKA	0	1	1	2	80	0.589	480
(7)	WEST INDIES	0	1	0	4	40	0.527	480
(8)	SOUTH AFRICA	0	1	0	6	24	0.521	480
(9)	BANGLADESH	0	0	0	3	0	0.351	540

England attempt audacious double in Ashes

ENGLAND embarked on the second leg of an already memorable summer of cricket as the Ashes series began at Edgbaston in Birmingham today.

Little more than two weeks ago, the hosts lifted the Cricket World Cup for the first time ever following an incredible tied Final against New Zealand.

Now, though, the focus switches to the longest form of the game - and seven weeks of the thrills and spills of the oldest rivalry in the sport.

Australia currently hold the urn following their easy 4-0 home win in the 2017-18 winter. However, the tourists have failed to win an Ashes series on English soil since 2001.

For context, the last time that Australia triumphed in a Test series in England, this correspondent was not able to buy a pint in a pub, at least not legally - and that certainly seems a long time ago.

In a way, it is remarkable that England have the opportunity for a World Cup-Ashes double in the same summer.

After all, the 2013-14 away series was brought forward 12 months precisely to prevent the two competitions from being played one after another.

But this rivalry has become so marketable that, in the 14 years since 2005, it is only in the years in which a Summer Olympics has been held - 2008, 2012 and 2016 - that there has not been at least one Ashes Test.

Of course, too much of the same thing can become very tiresome and is not usually recommended - but, at least, this series has been given the added context of being the first fixture of the ICC Test Championship.

This new-fangled competition will run until early 2021 with a Final at Lord's held between the two best-performing Test teams between now and then - and the full fixtures can be found below.

Admittedly, the arrangement is far from perfect. Each of the nine teams will play a different amount of matches with the points distribution dependent on how many matches are in a series.

Sadly, there is also no place for three teams now able to play at Test level - Zimbabwe (currently suspended), Ireland and Afghanistan - the latter two of which have only recently been awarded that status.

Nevertheless, it is encouraging to see the international governing body making some sort of attempt to give some sort of meaningful context to Test cricket.

The Ashes, however, need no additional context - especially as this particular series is between two extremely fallible batting line-ups.

England have had an issue with openers ever since the start of this decade when former skipper Andrew Strauss retired in 2012, and left Alastair Cook without a reliable partner.

Cook, too, has now retired - and, as well as fielding two relatively inexperienced openers, current captain Joe Root has felt obliged to move up to three in the order to protect another Ashes rookie, Joe Denly.

As recently as last week, England were bowled out for just 85 inside a session by Ireland at Lord's as Tim Murtagh had a dream morning to take 5-13.

True, England eventually won by 143 runs after bowling Ireland out for the seventh-lowest Test score in history - 38 - but Australia are unlikely to be quite so forgiving.

At the same time, the Aussies have their own batting issues. Few of the Australian batsmen have much experience of the red Duke ball in overcast conditions - but unfortunately former captain and vice-captain, Steve Smith and David Warner, do.

The pair - infamously - lost their respective positions in Sandpaper-gate, an incident in which young opener Cameron Bancroft roughed up the ball with sandpaper, on the instruction of Smith and Warner.

But, while the guilty parties can expect a rough reception around the country during this series, it seems unlikely the English crowds will bother them too much, given that they have all been welcomed back into the Aussie fold.

Instead, at the outset, it feels as if the performance of the respective bowling attacks will be the key to which of these sides holds the urn aloft in September.

For England, World Cup winner Mark Wood has been ruled out of the whole campaign with a side strain - while leading England Test wicket-taker James Anderson has been struggling with a calf injury.

Nonetheless, the hosts still have plenty of pace options with the experienced Stuart Broad joined by Chris Woakes and all-rounder Ben Stokes, and with Jofra Archer also expected to be introduced at some point.

And, looking back, recent Ashes series held in England have been far more closely contested, in comparison to those played Down Under.

Indeed, most of them have effectively been decided by one player hitting a purple patch at some point during the campaign.

Consider the efforts of Andrew Flintoff in 2009, Ian Bell (three centuries) in 2013, and Broad (8-15 at Trent Bridge) in 2015.

Those sort of out-of-the-blue moments make the outcome of this series seriously difficult to predict.

After all, even a strong England One-Day team made life hard for themselves during the World Cup - and this feels like an even tougher task for a Test team with inherent weaknesses in its batting.


ASHES SERIES 2019

01-05 August	1 Australia 284 & 487-7dec beat England 374 & 146 by 251 runs	Edgbaston
14-18 August	2 Australia 250 & 154-6 drew with England 258 & 258-5dec	Lord's
22-26 August	THIRD TEST	Headingley
04-08 September	FOURTH TEST	Old Trafford
12-16 September	FIFTH TEST	The Oval

INITIAL SQUADS
ENGLAND Joe Root (c), Ben Stokes (vc), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler (wk), Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Jason Roy, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes
AUSTRALIA Tim Paine (c)(wk), Pat Cummins (vc), Travis Head (vc), Cameron Bancroft, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade (wk), David Warner

ICC TEST CHAMPIONSHIP 2019-2021

Date	Tests
Aug-Sep 2019	(5)	ENGLAND v AUSTRALIA
Aug 2019	(2)	SRI LANKA v NEW ZEALAND
Aug-Sep 2019	(2)	WEST INDIES v INDIA
Oct 2019	(3)	INDIA v SOUTH AFRICA
Oct 2019	(2)	PAKISTAN v SRI LANKA
Nov-Dec 2019	(2)	AUSTRALIA v PAKISTAN
Nov 2019	(2)	INDIA v BANGLADESH
Dec-Jan 2020	(3)	AUSTRALIA v PAKISTAN
Dec-Jan 2020	(4)	SOUTH AFRICA v ENGLAND
Jan 2020	(2)	PAKISTAN v BANGLADESH
Feb 2020	(2)	BANGLADESH v AUSTRALIA
Feb-Mar 2020	(2)	NEW ZEALAND v INDIA
Mar 2020	(2)	SRI LANKA v ENGLAND
Jun 2020	(3)	ENGLAND v WEST INDIES
Jul 2020	(3)	ENGLAND v PAKISTAN
Jul 2020	(2)	SRI LANKA v BANGLADESH
Jul 2020	(2)	WEST INDIES v SOUTH AFRICA
Aug 2020	(2)	BANGLADESH v NEW ZEALAND
Nov 2020	(3)	NEW ZEALAND v WEST INDIES
Nov-Jan 2021	(4)	AUSTRALIA v INDIA
Dec 2020	(2)	NEW ZEALAND v PAKISTAN
Jan 2021	(3)	BANGLADESH v WEST INDIES
Jan 2021	(5)	INDIA v ENGLAND
Jan 2021	(2)	PAKISTAN v SOUTH AFRICA
Jan 2021	(2)	SOUTH AFRICA v SRI LANKA
Feb 2021	(3)	SOUTH AFRICA v AUSTRALIA
Feb 2021	(2)	WEST INDIES v SRI LANKA
Jun 2021	(1)	FINAL

Points distribution
(2) 60 points for a Test win, 20 points each for a draw
(3) 40 points for a Test win, 13.3 points each for a draw
(4) 30 points for a Test win, 10 points each for a draw
(5) 24 points for a Test win, eight points each for a draw
NB A team that is behind the required over-rate at the end of a match will have two competition points deducted for each over it is behind

On the demise of Durham

A gloomy Riverside Stadium in Chester-le-Street

ENGLAND began their series away in Bangladesh with a bang on Friday, winning the opening One Day International by 21 runs after a stirring late comeback.

Durham all-rounder Ben Stokes hit a maiden ODI century while there was a crucial five-fer on debut for 25-year-old Nottinghamshire seamer Jake Ball.

It was an exciting win at the start of a potentially tricky series with two more One-Dayers scheduled ahead of three Test matches and then a full winter tour of India.

But it was also a victory undermined by events earlier this week which resulted in the demotion of Durham County Cricket Club to Division Two of the County Championship.

On the surface, the decision to relegate Durham seems fair enough.

Bailed out to the tune of £3.8m by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), this relegation appears no different to the Football League deducting points off its teams for going into administration, something which has happened with some regularity since 2000.

However, Durham's overall punishment - which includes points deductions in all competitions for 2017 - was surely far too harsh in that it also renders the whole of next season almost pointless.

Most crucially, though, it seems to have entirely escaped the ECB as to how Durham have landed themselves in this situation.

The awkward truth for the governing body is that it is complicit.

THE DEMISE OF DURHAM The sanction in full
(1) Relegation to Division Two of the County Championship for 2017. Further deduction of 48 points to be made at the start of the 2017 season.
(2) Four-point penalty in the T20 Blast and a two-point penalty in the One-Day Cup in the 2017 season.
(3) All non-player related ECB competition prize money due to Durham for the 2016 season to be refunded to ECB or withheld until all debts owed by the club to ECB have been settled.
(4) Durham to be subject to a revised salary cap from April 2017 to April 2020 under the ECB’s Team Salary Payment (TSP) Regulations, set at a level to be determined annually by the ECB Board.


After all, here is exactly what has happened: in 1992, Durham became the first new county to be given First Class status for 70 years.

The award, however, came on the proviso that the club would construct an international standard ground.

In this matter, Durham delivered on their side of the deal - although, to this day, the location of the Riverside Stadium in Chester-le-Street, rather than the city of Durham itself, is rather baffling.

Nevertheless, Durham also invested in an academy which has produced the likes of Paul Collingwood, Steve Harmison, Mark Wood, and Stokes - all local lads who have gone on to make international appearances.

And, in 1999, the Riverside held its first One Day international - Pakistan v Scotland in the World Cup.

In 2003, it hosted its first ever Test, England v Zimbabwe, and everything seemed to be going to plan. By 2009, though, Sophia Gardens in Cardiff and the Rose Bowl in Hampshire had both also joined the Test circuit.

The problem then was that there were suddenly nine Test-standard venues for a total of seven Tests per year, two of which were allocated to Lord's.

In an ideal world, the ECB would have forced Lord's to give up one of its matches - but the history of the ground and its ability to attract a large capacity crowd in London always made this unlikely.

As such, with eight grounds competing for only five matches, the remaining Tests should have been allocated on a completely fair rota basis.

Instead, the ECB saw the chance to make a quick buck and so provoked a bidding war for each of its matches.

Inevitably, the more powerful counties usually won the right to stage the more attractive games - leaving the likes of Durham to bid for early- or late-season affairs, none of which would have been their first choice.

Of course, it was not always like that - in 2013, Durham staged an Ashes Test which England won to seal the series. In doing so, though, the club had paid through the nose for the privilege.

The system, quite frankly, was and still is unsustainable - and there is a feeling that Durham are probably better off out of it, the Riverside having now lost its Test status.

At this rate, though, Durham will not be the last victims - indeed, they were not the first.

In Cardiff, Glamorgan allowed the taxpayer to pick up the bill with the local council writing off the debt. Meanwhile, Warwickshire owe Birmingham City Council around £20m and have already benefited from a "repayment holiday".

Even Yorkshire - the most powerful of all of the counties - found itself £24m in debt, only to be saved by a single benefactor Colin Graves. Hampshire, with Rod Bransgrove, were similarly fortunate.

It is clear then that there are inherent structural problems in the domestic set-up.

Unfortunately, the response of the ECB has been typically closed-minded, a criticism which could be levelled at the sport of cricket as a whole.

There is really no point in putting cricket up against football in terms of comparisons - yes, the latter also has issues with its greed and bad governance but it will also always have far more reach and ability to make money.

However, a far better comparison can be made with rugby union. Of the two sports, cricket started its World Cup first - in 1979 - but, despite this, the tournament has only once featured as many as 16 teams.

By contrast, the Rugby World Cup - which began in 1987 with 16 teams - has had 20 competitors since 1999.

The expansion decision came despite a series of maulings for lower ranked nations in 1995, including an infamous 145-17 thrashing for Japan at the hands of New Zealand.

But, in the last 20 years, the weaker nations have gradually improved, and Japan are probably the biggest example of this.

Last autumn at the World Cup, the Red Cherries even beat South Africa, and the Japanese will also become the first Asian nation to host the tournament in 2019.

Of course, cricket - like any sport - is not averse to its shock results - but, despite their efforts, the likes of Ireland and the Netherlands have largely been left out in the cold.

All of this may seem to have little to do with Durham. However, all that is being pointed out here is that it is dangerous for administrators to take decisions which close the doors on apparent outsiders.

Stokes, still aged just 25, may continue steaming in and thumping boundaries for England for some years yet.

But, having acted so brutally against Durham and damaged their relationship with the north east at large this week, the ECB is unlikely, at best, to enjoy the benefit of another player like Stokes from the region in the next generation.

At worst, professional cricket in the north east could just about die off entirely.

ENGLAND TOURS OF BANGLADESH & INDIA

	BANGLADESH
ODI series
07-Oct	(1) England 309-8 beat Bangladesh 288 47.5 by 21 runs	Dhaka
09-Oct	Second ODI	Mirpur
12-Oct	Third ODI	Chittagong
Test series
20-24 Oct	First Test	Chittagong
28-01 Nov	Second Test	Mirpur

	INDIA
Test series
09-13 Nov	First Test	Rajkot
17-21 Nov	Second Test	Visakhapatnam
26-30 Nov	Third Test	Mohali
08-12 Dec	Fourth Test	Mumbai
16-20 Dec	Fifth Test	Chennai
ODI series
15-Jan-2017	First ODI	Pune
19-Jan-2017	Second ODI	Cuttack
22-Jan-2017	Third ODI	Kolkata
T20 series
26-Jan-2017	First T20I	Kanpur
29-Jan-2017	Second T20I	Nagpur
01-Feb-2017	Third T20I	Bangalore

Cricket World Cup group stage: Pakistan end Ireland run

CRICKET WORLD CUP

Group A preview - Group B preview - Results sheet
Group update - England review - Group review - Knockout stages - FINAL 

GROUP A REVIEW

NEW ZEALAND
Thrill a minute stuff from the Black Caps who hold a perfect record of six wins out of six in this World Cup. Trent Boult has been in fine form with the ball, taking 15 wickets at an average of 15.60, and he has been well supported by Tim Southee and the experienced spinner Daniel Vettori.
The real fireworks, though, have come from captain Brendon McCullum who personified his team's aggressive approach when he broke his own World Cup record with a half-century in 18 balls against England, beating his previous marker of 20, set in 2007. McCullum's captaincy has also been excellent, most notably his insistence on keeping slips in place to back up his bowlers. It was no surprise to see the Kiwis bowl out five of the six opponents - only Bangladesh escaped but even they were beaten comfortably enough.
There were a couple of wobbles - against Scotland, McCullum's men struggled to chase a small target of 143 - and, in another low-scoring match, a thriller in Auckland against Australia was won by one wicket after a collapse from 131-4 to 146-9. With both co-hosts progressing, the result did not mean a huge amount overall - but the look on the faces of both sets of supporters told you everything about just how much it actually did mean in itself.

AUSTRALIA

Australia may have finished runners-up to their fellow hosts New Zealand following that thrilling defeat at Eden Park in Auckland - but, having retained home advantage for their knockout matches after thumping Scotland, the Baggy Greens remain the overall favourites.
After all, everything that was written in the preview post still rings true, although it has been Mitchell Starc, and not his namesake Johnson, who has proved to be the bowler of the tournament so far. Starc has taken 16 wickets, more than anyone else, at an average of just 8.50 - and six of those dismissals came in the defeat to the Black Caps as Michael Clarke's men almost pulled off an extraordinary heist.
For, even after having been rolled over for 151 after Trent Boult's own five-fer, there was still much the Aussies could take from the attempted comeback. Certainly, it is doubtful if any other side in world cricket would have got so close. Otherwise, there have been no worries about the Aussie batting with David Warner hitting 178 as Australia recorded the highest ever World Cup score against Afghanistan of 417-6 in the tournament's biggest ever victory, by 275 runs.
Meanwhile, Aaron Finch also scored a fine ton in the opening match against England which also featured a five-fer for the third Mitchell, Mitchell Marsh. The most thrilling Aussie century, though, undoubtedly came from Glenn Maxwell, coming as it did off just 53 balls. And, while Maxwell actually represents Australia's only obvious weakness - their lack of top-quality spin - this seems unlikely to be a decisive factor on the hard, bouncy surfaces Down Under. A tough draw sees Darren Lehmann's team face resurgent Pakistan in the quarter finals and probably holders India in the semis - but they should still get past those two before holding the big advantage of playing the Final at a jam-packed, boisterous MCG.

SRI LANKA
Sri Lanka's World Cup campaign so far has been the Kumar Sangakkara Show. In the course of the group stages, the number three became the first ever player to score four successive one-day international centuries with 105 not out against Bangladesh, 117 not out against England, 104 against Australia and 124 against Scotland, giving him an aggregate of 496 runs at an average of 124. It seems bizarre, against the backdrop of this record-breaking run, that he still intends to retire at the end of the World Cup. He will be a miss and not just for Sri Lanka fans.
In fairness to the Sri Lanka team as a whole, Sangakkara also has talented company - Tillakaratne Dilshan hit an unbeaten 161 against Bangladesh and 104 against Scotland, Lahiru Thirimanne hit an unbeaten 139 against England, and Mahela Jayawardene scored 100 against Afghanistan. Altogether, the Sri Lankans have hit eight centuries, three more than any other team.
Their bowling has not been quite as impressive with injury-hit Lasith Malinga down on pace. As a consequence, Sri Lanka effectively beat all the teams who were worse than them - but lost against the two co-hosts to settle in third. Nevertheless, with their batting form as strong as it has been, a quarter final against South Africa is a cracking opportunity to progress towards what would actually be a third successive World Cup Final.

BANGLADESH
A historic World Cup for Bangladesh who have qualified for the quarter finals for the first time after beating England by 15 runs. In that match, Mahmudullah also scored the Bangladeshis' first ever World Cup century as the Tigers recovered from 8-2 and 99-4 to set a target of 275 which was ultimately too much for their nervy and flawed opponents. For good measure, four days later, Mahmudullah scored a much better ton - an unbeaten 128 off 123 balls - in a losing cause against New Zealand as Bangladesh became the first, and thus far only side, to avoid being bowled out by the Black Caps.
Yes, against Australia, Bangladesh benefited from the Queensland rains and gained an unexpected point from just the second ever complete abandonment of a World Cup match - but, in their other five matches, Mashrafe Mortaza's competed against every other team except Sri Lanka.
Truly, the Tigers deserved their place in the last eight much more than Peter Moores's side - and their underdog status means they head into their biggest ever match against holders India on Thursday with nothing to lose.

ENGLAND

Thrashed three times by margins of 111 runs against Australia, eight wickets with more than 37 overs to spare against New Zealand, and nine wickets against Sri Lanka, England also lost the vital match of their campaign in going down by 15 runs to Bangladesh after failing to chase a highly-achievable 276. The defeat in Adelaide to the Tigers means they have now suffered defeats in successive World Cups to the them - and, all things considered, there really was hardly anything to cheer for England in this tournament.    
Even the few brighter moments had caveats: Steven Finn became the first Englishman in World Cup history to take a hat-trick - but it feels as if it barely counts, his wickets against Australia having come from the last three balls of the innings to catches on the boundary as the Aussies looked to increase their already mammoth score.
Meanwhile, the two wins over the Associate teams, Scotland and Afghanistan, were flawed victories, England having collapsed in the former from 172-0 in 30 overs to 303-8 in 50 after Moeen Ali's century. With James Taylor denied a ton by an umpiring error against Australia, Joe Root was England's only other centurion with 121 off 108 balls against Sri Lanka. But it was that match which thoroughly exposed England for being behind the times in considering 309-6 as a par score. So far, head coach Peter Moores has remained in position ahead of a Test series against the West Indies in April. Bowling coach David Saker has fallen on his sword, however.

AFGHANISTAN

Sporting dreams do come true and the Afghanistan cricket team are the proof. Less than six years after being granted ODI status, the Afghanis were at a World Cup - and, moreover, were able to break their duck at their very first tournament.
Yes, what was absolute heartbreak for Scotland was unbridled joy for Afghanistan, and they subsequently matched England's win-loss record right until the final match. Although that says as much about England's struggles as anything, Afghanistan arguably played better at times, even threatening victory over Sri Lanka by forcing them into the penultimate over in their chase.
Andy Moles's men also took four New Zealand wickets in 36 overs - compared to England's two in 12 - but there were some disappointments too. The mammoth defeat to Australia, by 275 runs, was a World Cup record they would rather not have. Meanwhile, with Sarfraz Ahmed scoring a ton for Pakistan in their last group game against Ireland, Afghanistan were left as the only team out of the 14 competing not to have a centurion.
 
SCOTLAND
Scotland extended their unenviable record of having lost every World Cup match they have played with the total now at 14 following six defeats in Australia and New Zealand. It may also have been their last chance to make a big impression on the cricket world if the world governing body, the ICC, carry through with their proposals to restrict future World Cups to 10 teams.
There were some bright moments - Josh Davey bowled superbly and finished the group stages as the joint second highest wicket taker with 15 at an average of 20.73. Meanwhile, Kyle Coetzer scored Scotland's first ever World Cup century with 156 against Bangladesh. But, ultimately, the Saltires were left disappointed, having blown a glorious chance of a maiden victory against Afghanistan. Chasing 211, the Afghanis had been reduced to 97-7 and 192-9 but made it through the winning post with three balls to spare. Just as in 1999 against Bangladesh, Scotland had failed to hold their nerve at the vital moment.

13 Feb 22:00	Christchurch NZ	NEW ZEALAND 331-6 beat SRI LANKA 233 46.1 by 98 runs
14 Feb 03:30	Melbourne Aus	AUSTRALIA 342-9 beat ENGLAND 231 41.5 by 111 runs
16 Feb 22:00	Dunedin NZ	NEW ZEALAND 146-7 24.5 beat SCOTLAND 142 36.2 by 3 wkts
18 Feb 03:30	Canberra Aus	BANGLADESH 267 beat AFGHANISTAN 162 42.5 by 105 runs
20 Feb 01:00	Wellington NZ	NEW ZEALAND 125-2 12.2 beat ENGLAND 123 33.2 by 8 wickets
21 Feb 03:30	Brisbane Aus	AUSTRALIA N/R BANGLADESH - match abandoned (rain)
21 Feb 22:00	Dunedin NZ	SRI LANKA 236-6 48.2 beat AFGHANISTAN 232 49.4 by 4 wickets
22 Feb 22:00	Christchurch NZ	ENGLAND 303-8 beat SCOTLAND 184 42.2 by 119 runs
25 Feb 22:00	Dunedin NZ	AFGHANISTAN 211-9 49.3 beat SCOTLAND 210 by 1 wicket
26 Feb 03:30	Melbourne Aus	SRI LANKA 332-1 beat BANGLADESH 240 47 by 92 runs
28 Feb 01:00	Auckland NZ	NEW ZEALAND 152-9 23.1 bt AUSTRALIA 151 32.2 by 1 wicket
28 Feb 22:00	Wellington NZ	SRI LANKA 312-1 47.2 beat ENGLAND 309-6 by nine wickets
04 Mar 06:30	Perth Aus	AUSTRALIA 417-6 beat AFGHANISTAN 142 37.3 by 275 runs
04 Mar 22:00	Nelson NZ	BANGLADESH 322-4 48.1 beat SCOTLAND 318-8 by six wickets
07 Mar 22:00	Napier NZ	NEW ZEALAND 188-4 36.1 bt AFGHANISTAN 186 47.4 by 6 wkts
08 Mar 03:30	Sydney Aus	AUSTRALIA 376-9 beat SRI LANKA 312 46.2 by 64 runs
09 Mar 03:30	Adelaide Aus	BANGLADESH 275-7 beat ENGLAND 260 48.3 by 15 runs
11 Mar 03:30	Hobart Aus	SRI LANKA 363-9 beat SCOTLAND 215 43.1 by 148 runs
13 Mar 01:00	Hamilton NZ	NEW ZEALAND 290-7 48.5 beat BANGLADESH 288-7 by 3 wkts
13 Mar 03:30	Sydney Aus	ENGLAND 101-1 18.1 bt AFGHANISTAN 111-7 36.2 by 9 wkts (D/L)
14 Mar 03:30	Hobart Aus	AUSTRALIA 133-3 15.2 beat SCOTLAND 130 25.4 by 7 wickets

GROUP A	W	L	NR Tie	Run  rate	Pts
(Q) NEW ZEALAND	6	0	0	+2.56	12
(Q) AUSTRALIA	4	1	1	+2.26	9
(Q) SRI LANKA	4	2	0	+0.37	8
(Q) BANGLADESH	3	2	1	+0.14	7
ENGLAND	2	4	0	-0.75	4
AFGHANISTAN	1	5	0	-1.85	2
SCOTLAND	0	6	0	-2.22	0

GROUP B REVIEW

INDIA
Holders India have arguably been the surprise of the World Cup so far, as odd as that sounds. Having entered the tournament in terrible form, the Indians have won six games out of six, and can boast the fine achievement of being the only side to have bowled all of their opponents out inside the allotted 50 overs.
Of course, India have long been well-known for their batting - and Shikhar Dhawan, with two centuries, and Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli with one each have delivered on that front. Captain MS Dhoni has also excelled in his role in the middle-order as a finisher of games - but it has been the Indian seam attack which has caused the eyebrows to raise more than anything else.
Normally one of the weaker elements of the team, the pace bowlers have really stepped up, and Mohammed Shami - with 15 wickets at a miserly average of 12.60 - has been the best of the lot. Four years ago on home soil, India fell back in love with the World Cup as Dhoni led them to glory - and they are clearly not about to terminate this relationship without a fight.

SOUTH AFRICA 

It has been a curious World Cup so far for South Africa. The Proteas have hit some big scores - 339-4 against Zimbabwe and 341-6 against the UAE - and some absolutely massive ones, becoming the first side to hit more than 400 runs in successive ODIs against West Indies and Ireland.
But, for all they ultimately finished group runners-up behind India anyway, AB de Villiers's men have also collapsed and lost twice under pressure while chasing after being bowled out by India and Pakistan. In the latter defeat, skipper de Villiers almost single-handedly rescued the game with 77 off 58 balls - but, once he was out, the game was obviously up, and there remains a worry that the South Africans simply rely on him far too much.
Of course, de Villiers is such a wonderful player that sometimes he can be relied upon to win matches on his own, with his 150 against West Indies coming off an ODI-record low of 64 balls. But no one should come to be relied upon every single time - and, as this World Cup has repeatedly shown, the nerves of a big chase are a very different proposition to setting up a big score. Amazingly, South Africa have never won a World Cup match in the knockout stages - can they hold their nerve if they have to chase a big Sri Lanka total? The jury is out on that one.  

PAKISTAN 

Pakistan have recovered well at this World Cup and head into a quarter finals against Australia in a positive vibe on the back of four wins out of four. It now seems a while ago since their dreadful start to this tournament, one which featured a sixth loss out of six to India at World Cups in their opener before an extraordinary top order collapse on the way to a crushing 150-run defeat to West Indies.
Yes, at one stage against the Windies, Pakistan were 1-4, and they eventually did well just to make three figures. But, while nothing compares to what happened in Christchurch, batting collapses have been nothing unusual - and, even in victory against Zimbabwe, Misbah-ul-Haq's men had to rebuild from 4-2.
Pakistan thus remain perhaps the least predictable of the eight teams left in the competition, and the Cornered Tigers analogy of 1992 could yet be reprised. Back then, when Australia and New Zealand last hosted the World Cup, Imran Khan's unfancied Pakistan won the whole thing having almost gone out in the group stage after suffering a poor start. But, while the potential is there for it to happen again, it would still be a big surprise if history did indeed repeat itself.

WEST INDIES
Arguably the weakest of the eight sides to make it through to the quarter finals, the West Indies' six points would not have been enough to progress from Group A. Defeat to Ireland in their opening match hardly came as much of a surprise, given the two sides' respective build-ups, and everything seemed to suggest this might be a totally ramshackle campaign.
Then, however, Jason Holder's men immediately rallied in big wins over Pakistan and Zimbabwe. In the latter, Chris Gayle hit the first, and so far only, double century in World Cup history with 215 off 147 balls - but, otherwise, the opener has actually not been in particularly good nick. Indeed, it is skipper Holder who narrowly tops the averages ahead of Gayle, without the benefit of a big score - and, aged just 23, the Windies' youngest ever captain has impressed generally with his mature leadership.
Even in their crushing AB de Villiers-inspired defeat to South Africa, Holder attempted to restore some respectability to a hopeless situation with a half-century. But there is only so much he can do himself - and, as the defeats to South Africa and India have already suggested, the West Indies can still expect to struggle against the stronger teams.

IRELAND
It says a lot about the developing expectations of Irish cricket that the team will be absolutely gutted at having failed to reach the quarter finals despite winning three games including two against Test-playing nations. Now, before the World Cup even began, it was clear that Ireland's fixtures were top-heavy with their first few games offering the best opportunity for points.
And Ireland delivered on their promise beating West Indies first up before holding their nerve in the last over when in the unusual position of favourites against the UAE.Another nail-biting victory came in their fourth match against Zimbabwe as the Africans fell five runs short of chasing 332 thanks to a cracking last over by Alex Cusack.
But, generally, bowling was Ireland's weaker hand as they demonstrated in conceding more than 400 runs to South Africa and in losing to India inside 37 overs. Those two big defeats left the Irish with a pretty poor net run rate, certainly in comparison to their rivals for a top four spot - and it effectively left them needing to win a fourth game against Pakistan.
For once, the batting was under-par and, despite skipper William Porterfield's 107, the team total of 237 never looked enough to trouble their in-form opponents. Nevertheless, Ireland can console themselves with the fact that they got a lot closer to the last eight, and played a lot better, than England. Also, except for winning just one more game or even having a bit of luck with the weather, they really could not have done much more to convince the ICC to reconsider their ridiculous proposal of limiting future World Cups to 10 teams. Indeed, they strengthened their case to be given Test status.

ZIMBABWE
Zimbabwe bowed out of the World Cup at a predictably early stage having failed to achieve even the bare minimum as a Test playing nation of beating both of the Associate sides. Yes, they did beat the UAE - and, yes, the match against the strongest Associate Ireland was one which could have gone either way. But, except for mighty efforts and the humility from retiring skipper Brendan Taylor, unfortunately there was not much for the Africans to take away from this tournament.
Taylor really was the one outstanding player to lift Zimbabwe above a level of mediocrity but his two tons - against India and Ireland - were ultimately both in vain. Indeed, the Zimbabweans extended their record of most defeats in World Cup matches to 42 as they made it three successive group stage exits going back to 2007. Coach Dav Whatmore, if he chooses to take on the role permanently, has much work to do to make this team truly competitive again.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
The UAE were playing in their first World Cup for 19 years - and eventually it showed as they badly ran out of steam. Narrowly beaten in their first two matches against Zimbabwe - who won with two overs left - and Ireland, who won in the last over, Khurram Khan's team then suffered four much heavier defeats to India, Pakistan, South Africa and West Indies.
However, such a downturn in performance should not come as much of a surprise for what is effectively an amateur team - and, in fact, the only one of the 14 in Australia and New Zealand without professional status. Still, this handicap did not stop them from having their moments - particularly Shaiman Anwar who became the first UAE player to reach three figures at a World Cup - as they threatened that surprise win over the Irish. Nevertheless, the UAE's World Cup experience is perhaps best summed up by vice-captain Mohammad Tauqir who said at the end of the group stage: "Our employers are waiting for us".

15 Feb 01:00	Hamilton NZ	SOUTH AFRICA 339-4 beat ZIMBABWE 277 48.2 by 62 runs
15 Feb 03:30	Adelaide Aus	INDIA 300-7 beat PAKISTAN 224 47 by 76 runs
15 Feb 22:00	Nelson NZ	IRELAND 307-6 45.5 beat WEST INDIES 304-7 by four wickets
18 Feb 22:00	Nelson NZ	ZIMBABWE 286-6 48 beat UAE 285-7 by four wickets
20 Feb 22:00	Christchurch NZ	WEST INDIES 310-6 beat PAKISTAN 160 39 by 150 runs
22 Feb 03:30	Melbourne Aus	INDIA 307-7 beat SOUTH AFRICA 177 40.2 by 130 runs
24 Feb 03:30	Canberra Aus	WEST INDIES 372-2 beat ZIMBABWE 289 44.3 by 73 runs (D/L)
25 Feb 03:30	Brisbane Aus	IRELAND 279-8 49.2 beat UAE 278-9 by two wickets
27 Feb 03:30	Sydney Aus	SOUTH AFRICA 408-5 beat WEST INDIES 151 33.1 by 257 runs
28 Feb 06:30	Perth Aus	INDIA 104-1 18.5 beat UAE 102 31.3 by nine wickets
01 Mar 03:30	Brisbane Aus	PAKISTAN 235-7 beat ZIMBABWE 215 49.4 by 20 runs
03 Mar 03:30	Canberra Aus	SOUTH AFRICA 411-4 beat IRELAND 210 45 by 201 runs
04 Mar 01:00	Napier NZ	PAKISTAN 339-6 beat UAE 210-8 by 129 runs
06 Mar 06:30	Perth Aus	INDIA 185-6 39.1 beat WEST INDIES 182 44.2 by four wickets
07 Mar 01:00	Auckland NZ	PAKISTAN 222 46.4 beat SOUTH AFRICA 202 33.3 by 29 runs (D/L)
07 Mar 03:30	Hobart Aus	IRELAND 331-8 beat ZIMBABWE 326 49.3 by five runs
10 Mar 01:00	Hamilton NZ	INDIA 260-2 36.5 beat IRELAND 259 49 by eight wickets
12 Mar 01:00	Wellington NZ	SOUTH AFRICA 341-6 beat UAE 195 47.3 by 146 runs
14 Mar 01:00	Auckland NZ	INDIA 288-4 48.4 beat ZIMBABWE 287 48.5 by six wickets
14 Mar 22:00	Napier NZ	WEST INDIES 176-4 30.3 beat UAE 175 47.4 by six wickets
15 Mar 03:30	Adelaide Aus	PAKISTAN 241-3 46.1 beat IRELAND 237 by seven wickets

GROUP B	W	L	NR Tie	Run  rate	Pts
(Q) INDIA	6	0	0	+1.83	12
(Q) SOUTH AFRICA	4	2	0	+1.71	8
(Q) PAKISTAN	4	2	0	-0.09	8
(Q) WEST INDIES	3	3	0	-0.05	6
IRELAND	3	3	0	-0.93	6
ZIMBABWE	1	5	0	-0.53	2
UAE	0	6	0	-2.03	0

QUARTER FINALS

Date	Venue	Result
18 Mar 03:30	Sydney Aus	SOUTH AFRICA (B2) v SRI LANKA (A3)
19 Mar 03:30	Melbourne Aus	INDIA (B1) v BANGLADESH (A4)
20 Mar 03:30	Adelaide Aus	AUSTRALIA (A2) v PAKISTAN (B3)
21 Mar 01:00	Wellington NZ	NEW ZEALAND (A1) v WEST INDIES (B4)

Cricket World Cup: England avoid slipping on Scotland banana skin

CRICKET WORLD CUP

Group A preview - Group B preview - Results sheet
Group update - Group review - Quarter finals - Semi finals - FINAL

ENGLAND got their faltering World Cup campaign back on track with a straightforward 119-run win over minnows Scotland in Christchurch. 

Moeen Ali struck 128 off 107 balls as part of a record opening stand of 172 with Ian Bell as Peter Moores' under-pressure side belatedly enjoyed their first success of the tournament.

Earlier, England had been well-beaten by both co-hosts, Australia and New Zealand, as they briefly sank to the bottom of Group A.

The match on the opening night against the Aussies began well enough as England reduced the home side to 70-3. 

But, in front of a packed out Melbourne Cricket Ground, Aaron Finch put the Baggy Greens in the driving seat with a 135 before Mitchell Marsh produced the goods with the ball, taking 5-33. 

Yes, it was not Mitchell Johnson but rather his namesake Marsh who did the most damage with only James Taylor offering significant resistance. 

Indeed, Notts batsman Taylor made an unbeaten 98 and was unfairly denied the chance of a century after last man James Anderson was run out off a dead ball. 

The ball had become dead after Taylor was adjudged to have been trapped lbw before overturning the decision on review. 

It was a bizarre conclusion to a slightly bizarre match in which Steven Finn became the first Englishman to take a World Cup hat-trick to finish with figures of 5-71. 

Finn took three wickets off the final three balls of the Aussie innings, all from miscued shots to catches in the deep, as Darren Lehmann's side - in typical style - looked to pulverise their opponents.

But, ultimately, their score of 342 was more than enough as England were bowled out in 41.5 overs. 

Amazingly, England's next match - against New Zealand - lasted little more than that length of time in its entirety.

Winning the toss again, but this time opting to bat, England crumbled to the swing of Tim Southee as he became the first New Zealander, and only the fourth man ever, to take seven wickets in a World Cup match. 

Southee ended up taking 7-33 as England were 123 all out in just 33.2 overs. Losing their final seven wickets for just 19 runs, it was a lower score even than Scotland had managed in the Black Caps' previous match. 

In that game, Brendon McCullum's men only just got over the line, winning by three wickets in Dunedin - but McCullum himself was to ensure this contest would remain thoroughly one-sided throughout. 

The Kiwi skipper broke his own World Cup record with a half-century in 18 balls beating his previous marker of 20 from 2007. 

And, after scoring four successive sixes off the bowling of Finn (0-49 off two overs), McCullum was eventually out to Chris Woakes for 77 off just 25 deliveries. 

Woakes then made another quick blow to dismiss Martin Guptill - and New Zealand, by then requiring just 12 more runs, were forced by the vagaries of cricket rules to take a scheduled 45-minute break. 

Nevertheless, Woakes's efforts were far too little too late as Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor saw the co-hosts home inside 13 overs. Altogether, Wellington had seen less than half a game. 

It was indeed a crushing defeat, perhaps England's worst, with BBC correspondent Jonathan Agnew being kind in describing it as the "most one-sided international match" he had ever seen. 

Most commentators were far more scathing than that, with former captain Michael Vaughan suggesting on Twitter that the match against Scotland had become an "even money contest". 

Ultimately, it was nothing of the sort as England enjoyed their largest World Cup victory margin by runs since beating East Africa by 196 runs at Birmingham in 1975.

Even still, there were areas for huge improvement. England, having built up that big opening stand of 172, lost eight wickets and managed only 131 runs in the final 20 overs. 

As the Scottish openers took to the crease, memories of Ireland successfully chasing down 327 four years ago threatened to return to haunt England. 

But, once captain Preston Mommsen and Kyle Coetzer departed in successive overs, the Scots were never really in the chase. 

Indeed, the Saltires have now lost every single one of their 10 World Cup games across three tournaments. 

And they now must look to their next game against Afghanistan on Wednesday or perhaps exactly a week later against Bangladesh to break their duck. 

The Bangladeshis, though, could be a tough proposition as they have their tails up without even playing after gaining an unexpected point in their match against Australia in Brisbane. 

Torrential rain from a cyclone off the Queensland coast caused only the second ever complete abandonment of a World Cup match.

Instead, it is looking more and more as if England v Bangladesh on 9 March will effectively become a fourth-place playoff for the final qualifying spot in Group A, behind New Zealand, Australia and Sri Lanka.

Group B is less straightforward as a result of Ireland yet again proving their World Cup worth after they easily chased down West Indies' total of 304 to win by four wickets in Nelson. 

It was Ireland's fourth win over a Test-playing nation at World Cups following victories over Pakistan and Bangladesh in 2007, and - as mentioned above - England in 2011.

Moreover, of the five successful World Cup chases in excess of 300, three of them have been by the indefatigable Irish.

Following this most recent success, legendary West Indies bowler Michael Holding rightly called for William Porterfield's men to be given Test status immediately - and so they should, at least on a trial basis.

After all, what exactly have the governing body, the ICC, got to lose by expanding the game, especially in a place where the seeds of success have already been sown?

Back to Group B, and West Indies therefore did remarkably well to bounce back from the Ireland defeat with a convincing 150-run thumping of Pakistan. 

That defeat for Pakistan leaves them rock-bottom of Group B with two defeats out of two after they lost a sixth World Cup match out of six against India on the opening weekend in Adelaide. 

The game against India was the most watched cricket match of all time with an estimated television audience of one billion. 

But, after Virat Kohli's 107 and Mohammed Shami's 4-35, it was the same old story for Pakistan who - like England - must now rely on turning their form around against the minnows. 

By contrast, holders India - who arrived at the tournament in terrible form - now already have one foot in the quarter finals after carrying the momentum from the Pakistan win into their match against South Africa. 

The Proteas - who had won their opening match against Zimbabwe comfortably enough - collapsed from 108-2 to 177 all out to lose by 130 runs after India's Shikhar Dhawan provided scoreboard pressure with a 137.

It leaves the Group B table looking good for India who are clear at the top on four points. Ireland are the only other unbeaten team in the section - but, having played just once, they are one of a clutch of four teams on two points. 

UAE and Pakistan bring up the rear on zero points - with Ireland playing the former in an eminently winnable game on Wednesday. 

Meanwhile, England are next in action at 10pm on Saturday night British-time against Sri Lanka.

GROUP A RESULTS

Date	Venue	Result
13 Feb 22:00	Christchurch NZ	NEW ZEALAND 331-6 beat SRI LANKA 233 46.1 by 98 runs
14 Feb 03:30	Melbourne Aus	AUSTRALIA 342-9 beat ENGLAND 231 41.5 by 111 runs
16 Feb 22:00	Dunedin NZ	NEW ZEALAND 146-7 24.5 beat SCOTLAND 142 36.2 by 3 wkts
18 Feb 03:30	Canberra Aus	BANGLADESH 267 beat AFGHANISTAN 162 42.5 by 105 runs
20 Feb 01:00	Wellington NZ	NEW ZEALAND 125-2 12.2 beat ENGLAND 123 33.2 by 8 wickets
21 Feb 03:30	Brisbane Aus	AUSTRALIA N/R BANGLADESH - match abandoned (rain)
21 Feb 22:00	Dunedin NZ	SRI LANKA 236-6 48.2 beat AFGHANISTAN 232 49.4 by 4 wickets
22 Feb 22:00	Christchurch NZ	ENGLAND 303-8 beat SCOTLAND 184 42.2 by 119 runs

Remaining fixtures

GROUP A	W	L	NR Tie	Run  rate	Pts
NEW ZEALAND	3	0	0	+3.59	6
AUSTRALIA	1	0	1	+2.22	3
BANGLADESH	1	0	1	+2.10	3
SRI LANKA	1	1	0	-0.86	2
ENGLAND	1	2	0	-1.42	2
AFGHANISTAN	0	2	0	-1.18	0
SCOTLAND	0	2	0	-2.74	0

GROUP B RESULTS

Date	Venue	Result
15 Feb 01:00	Hamilton NZ	SOUTH AFRICA 339-4 beat ZIMBABWE 277 48.2 by 62 runs
15 Feb 03:30	Adelaide Aus	INDIA 300-7 beat PAKISTAN 224 47 by 76 runs
15 Feb 22:00	Nelson NZ	IRELAND 307-6 45.5 beat WEST INDIES 304-7 by four wickets
18 Feb 22:00	Nelson NZ	ZIMBABWE 286-6 48 beat UAE 285-7 by four wickets
20 Feb 22:00	Christchurch NZ	WEST INDIES 310-6 beat PAKISTAN 160 39 by 150 runs
22 Feb 03:30	Melbourne Aus	INDIA 307-7 beat SOUTH AFRICA 177 40.2 by 130 runs

Remaining fixtures

GROUP B	W	L	NR Tie	Run  rate	Pts
INDIA	2	0	0	+2.06	4
WEST INDIES	1	1	0	+1.27	2
IRELAND	1	0	0	+0.62	2
ZIMBABWE	1	1	0	-0.49	2
SOUTH AFRICA	1	1	0	-0.68	2
UAE	0	1	0	-0.26	0
PAKISTAN	0	2	0	-2.26	0

LIST OF CENTURY MAKERS

138* David Miller (South Africa) off 92 balls v Zimbabwe in Hamilton 

137 Shikhar Dhawan (India) off 146 balls v South Africa in Melbourne 

135 Aaron Finch (Australia) off 128 balls v England in Melbourne

128 Moeen Ali (England) off 107 balls v Scotland in Christchurch

115* JP Duminy (South Africa) off 100 balls v Zimbabwe in Hamilton

107 Virat Kohli (India) off 126 balls v Pakistan in Adelaide

102 Lendl Simmons (West Indies) off 84 balls v Ireland in Nelson

100 Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka) off 120 balls v Afghanistan in Dunedin

LIST OF FIVE-FERS

7-33 Tim Southee (New Zealand) v England in Wellington

5-33 Mitchell Marsh (Australia) v England in Melbourne

5-55 Sohail Khan (Pakistan) v India in Adelaide

5-71 Steven Finn (England) v Australia in Melbourne