T-20 World Cup 2010

New Zealand 139 for 8 (Ryder 42, Murali 2-25) beat Sri Lanka 135 for 6 (Jayawardene 81) by two wickets

On a track that lived up to it's pre-match billing of being sluggish, basic line-and-length bowling from New Zealand's slow bowlers was enough to curtail Sri Lanka to 135, despite Jayawardene 81, his highest score in Twenty20s.

The balance swung from one side to the other through the chase: New Zealand looked in control after Jesse Ryder's power-hitting at the top, but tight spells from the two oldest players in the tournament, Sanath Jayasuriya and Muttiah Muralitharan, seemingly shut New Zealand out of the game.

When Ajantha Mendis nipped out Scott Styris in the 17th over, the asking rate was over 10 and half the New Zealand side was dismissed. Jacob Oram, though, kept the game alive with two consecutive hits over long-on for six to round off the over. Lasith Malinga sent down an over of patented hard-to-hit full deliveries in the 18th, and two wickets - of Oram and Gareth Hopkins - fell in the first two deliveries of the penultimate over to again put Sri Lanka in charge.

With 18 needed off nine, Daniel Vettori shuffled across and swung Chanaka Welegedara for four in front of deep square leg, and McCullum mishit a low full toss over mid-on to scramble three off the final delivery.

Ten off the final over, from Malinga, was still a tough ask. The first delivery was squeezed to mid-on for a single and they comically stole a bye after Vettori missed a full delivery - with McCullum charging down the track, both batsmen were at the keeper's end, Sangakkara lobbed the ball to Malinga who missed the stumps from a few yards even though he could have walked and taken the bails off.

McCullum then swiped a full delivery to long leg for four to reduce it to 4 off 3, making New Zealand fans believe again. A hard drive to long-on resulted in Vettori's run-out as he attempted a non-existent second, but McCullum's glorious hit over long-off for six off the penultimate delivery confirmed New Zealand's victory.

Love it or hate it you can't get away from it. No sooner has a six-week IPL concluded in Mumbai - amid huge controversy - that another Twenty20 tournament begins on the other side of world in the Caribbean. The events of the last few weeks in India have swept cricket to the sidelines. The game needs a sparkling tournament in West Indies and, most importantly, a clean and controversy-free event.

Although the two tournaments are very different, it is hardly ideal to have so much cricket of one format in the same period, let alone another World Twenty20 less than a year after the last one in England which Pakistan memorably won at Lord's. However, ICC are trying to get their events schedule back on track, so the trophy is up for grabs again less than a year after it was collected by the now-retired (and suspended) Younis Khan. A lot has happened in nine months.

One advantage of Twenty20 rolling into Twenty20 is that many of the players will be attuned to the format. The preparation factor, though, needs to be balanced against the fatigue factor and possible injuries. Already the tournament is missing Virender Sehwag, Wayne Parnell and Brett Lee through injury. The latter's withdrawal is not a huge surprise, but the absence of Sehwag and Parnell robs the event of two matchwinners. They could have been injured without the IPL, but the timing doesn't help.

And not all the players at the IPL who are now here in the West Indies have been active over the last two months. Eoin Morgan and AB de Villiers were two of the notable stars to be benched by their franchises which just goes to show how pre-tournament status can quickly count for nothing. Morgan's situation in particular shows the problems that can occur: he went to the IPL in the form of his life, but hasn't picked up a bat since March 25. Then there are the likes of Yuvraj Singh and Dwayne Bravo; players who had a forgettable IPL but will be crucial to their team's chances in this tournament

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.