Exiled England batsman Kevin Pietersen believes his former teammates can win the World Cup if they play with freedom even though their dreadful record in the last five tournaments suggests otherwise.
After a comfortable outing in the tournament-opener against Bangladesh, title favourites England are set to face a much stiffer test against New Zealand in a crucial ICC Champions Trophy Group A fixture in Cardiff, on Tuesday.
IMAGES from Australian Open matches played at Melbourne Park on Friday
Facts and figures for the World Twenty20 final between England and West Indies at Eden Gardens on Sunday: World T20 head-to-head: Played: 4 - West Indies wins 4, England wins 0 All T20 head-to-head: Played: 13 - West Indies wins 9; England wins 4
Joe Root hit his second successive century to power England to an eight-wicket victory against India, which helped them clinch the three-match series 2-1, in Headingley on Tuesday.
England captain Eoin Morgan hit the winning run as the tourists secured their first T20 whitewash with a thrilling super-over win against Pakistan in the third match of the series in Sharjah on Monday.
Chris Silverwood edged out several experienced candidates, including the likes of former India and South Africa coach Gary Kirsten, for the England job.
The new 100-ball format tournament was launched on Thursday, with eight new city-based teams officially named and the first batch of players allocated, including England's red-ball contracted players.
Rajasthan Royals beat SunRisers Hyderabad by six wickets in their Indian Premier League match in Visakhapatnam. It was Rajasthan's fourth win in as many matches as keeps them top of the table.
Rediff.com's Manu Shankar spoke with former Essex player and fast bowling coach Ian Pont to assess England's disastrous start in the ICC's 50-over-a-side extravaganza.
Kicking off his second visit to the US in one year with a meeting with eight of the top 10 financial entities in the US, including JP Morgan and Blackstone, Modi outlined efforts made during the last 15 months to increase investment in key areas like infrastructure.
Wicketkeeper Matt Prior and struggling batsman Jonathan Trott have lost their central contacts with England, though all-rounder Ben Stokes has been rewarded despite a poor home series against India.
A win for Punjab will elevate them to the top four, while a victory for KKR will take them to 14 points
England beat Afghanistan by 15 runs in a World Twenty20 Group One match at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium on Wednesday to keep alive their semi-finals hopes.
Wes Morgan's 90th-minute header earned 10-man Leicester City a 2-1 victory over relegation-threatened Burnley at Turf Moor in the Premier League on Saturday.
Kevin Pietersen's test future may be in doubt but the mercurial batsman was hailed as a "million pound asset" when named in England's provisional 30-member squad for this year's Twenty20 World Cup in Bangladesh on Wednesday.
Australia thrashed England by eight wickets in their fifth and final one-day international at Old Trafford on Sunday to win the series 3-2 and take some consolation for the pain of Ashes defeat.
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday.
Glenn Maxwell produced a stellar all-round performance and Mitchell Johnson returned to terrorize England as Australia clinched the one-day tri-series with an emphatic 112-run victory over their Ashes rivals on Sunday.
David Warner and Shaun Marsh smashed fifties to complement their bowlers' efforts as Australia crushed England by seven wickets in the third one-day international in Sydney on Sunday to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.
Archer, who has played his junior cricket in the Caribbean and qualified to play for England only in April, is a familiar figure for the West Indies camp and it knows what the 24-year-old is capable of.
Left-handers Kumar Sangakkara and Lahiru Thirimanne struck fluent centuries to help Sri Lanka outplay a hapless England by nine wickets in a Pool A match of the ICC World Cup.
Aaron Finch smashed a sparkling century as Australia dealt England a 111-run humiliation in their World Cup opener at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has said the dilemma over settling down into the right bowling combination has put the team in a "catch-22 situation" ahead of the ICC World Cup.
Images from the sixth ODI of the tri-series, between India and England, on Friday.
Wood, who has 11 one-day international caps but missed the winter tour of India, is joined by fellow paceman Liam Plunkett who is yet to play for Yorkshire this season because of a calf injury.
England face unbeaten New Zealand in the first semi-final of 2016 World T20 at New Delhi's Ferozshah Kotla Stadium on March 30. While England have been champions in 2010, New Zealand will be eyeing their first World T20 title. Following is a factbox of the two teams:
England cricket chiefs have moved quickly to make it clear that Alastair Cook's dismissal as one-day captain has not opened the door for a return to international cricket for batsman Kevin Pietersen.
New Zealand's Tim Southee produced a brilliant spell of swing bowling for career best figures of 7-33 to dismiss England for 123 in their World Cup Pool A match at Wellington Regional Stadium on Friday.
England also named their final one-day squad before the World Cup, with fast bowlers Tom Curran and David Willey returning to a unit who defeated Sri Lanka 3-1. Tom replaces brother Sam as Liam Dawson and Olly Stone also miss out.
Jos Buttler made an unbeaten half-century as England shrugged off Clint McKay's hat-trick to win the fourth one-day international against Australia by three wickets on Saturday to set up a series decider on Monday.
Ian Pont, a former Essex player and fast bowling coach, now at the Ultimate Pace Foundation in Bengaluru, analyses England's disastrous World Cup campaign in an exclusive conversation with Manu Shankar/Rediff.com.
England will be determined to get their act together against defending champions Sri Lanka.
Australia will miss captain George Bailey in the One-dayer against England on Friday but their focus will be to seal a place in the ODI tri-series final.
Sri Lanka's bowlers ripped through a fragile England batting line-up to win the second one day international at Chester-le Street by 157 runs to tie the five match series 1-1.
Manchester United will be without skipper Wayne Rooney, Marouane Fellaini, Michael Carrick and Anthony Martial for their visit to Watford on Saturday when the Premier League resumes after the international break.
England's sporting global ambitions have never been fully realised since Sir Alf Ramsey's team won the 1966 FIFA World Cup. Whether it is Gary Linekar or Hary Kane, the 'Cup' that they desperately want never came home during the last five and half decades.
Former England Test captain Sir Ian Botham has backed Ashes heroes England to win 5-0 in the return series in Australia as he believes that England has the players to win again, especially a match-winning bowling attack.
Their campaign back on track after a stunning victory over South Africa, a resurgent England will be looking to plug their bowling loopholes when they take on an ever-improving Afghanistan in a Super 10 Group 1 match of the ICC World Twenty20, in New Delhi, on Wednesday.
Skipper Misbah-ul-Haq scored a majestic 91 not out to lead Pakistan to a thrilling four-wicket victory over England in their final World Cup warmup at Sydney Cricket Ground on Wednesday.
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