Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes impressed before England were denied the chance to press for a 3-0 series clean sweep against Australia by rain in Canberra.

Captain Buttler cracked 65 from 41 balls as England posted 112-2 from 12 overs in the third T20I, their innings having been disrupted twice by downpours at Manuka Oval.

Buttler's fellow opener Alex Hales made a disappointing duck, while Dawid Malan scored 23 and Ben Stokes added an unbeaten 17.

The fifth over of England's innings saw a minor flash point as Australia paceman Starc appear to threaten a 'Mankad' dismissal when he claimed Buttler, later named player of the series, was leaving the crease at the bowler's end too early.

England held a 2-0 lead coming into the final match of the series, after posting eight-run wins in Perth and the first leg of a Canberra double-header, and they had another victory in their sights, particularly when the home team made a dreadful start to their reply.

Australia lost Aaron Finch to the first ball of their innings, with the captain reaching outside off stump and flogging Chris Woakes to Harry Brook at deep point.

Woakes had two wickets in two balls when Mitchell Marsh fell, Mark Wood taking the catch after the batter looked to be caught in two minds and got a leading edge to short third man. Steve Smith fended off the hat-trick ball.

Australia got to 30-3 in their reply from 3.5 overs, with Woakes (3-4 from two overs) having also dismissed Glenn Maxwell, when rain stopped play again.

Five overs needed to be completed for a result to be called, but there was no prospect of play resuming, the teams denied what could have been a useful finale to the contest ahead of the upcoming Twenty20 World Cup campaign.

It has been a long time coming but the T20 World Cup will finally get under way in Australia on Sunday.

Two years later than scheduled due to the coronavirus pandemic, the tournament will start with Sri Lanka taking on Namibia at Kardinia Park followed by the United Arab Emirates versus the Netherlands at the same venue on Sunday.

There will be six days of qualifying matches to decide which four teams will go through to the Super 12, which starts with a repeat of last year's final between holders Australia and New Zealand on October 22.

You could make a case for several teams being strong contenders to lift the trophy at the MCG on November 13.

Stats Perform picks out some of the storylines to look out for in a tournament that will be well worth the wait.

Windies and Sri Lanka should avoid shock early exit

The only team to have won the T20 World Cup twice is West Indies, but they failed to secure direct qualification for the Super 12 on this occasion.

They lost four out of five matches as defending champions in the United Arab Emirates last year, a crushing six-wicket defeat to England setting the tone as they were skittled out for a pitiful 55.

Nicholas Pooran's side will face Scotland, Zimbabwe, Ireland at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart and will be expected to advance from Group B.

Sri Lanka were crowned Asia Cup champions last month and ought to have no trouble in advancing from a Group A that also includes the Netherlands, the UAE and Namibia.

On a high from lifting the trophy in Dubai, Dasun Shanaka's men could be dangerous if they made it through to the Super 12 as expected.

Hosts in quest to make history

Australia ended their wait for a first T20 World Cup title in Dubai last year at the expense of the Black Caps, Mitchell Marsh blasting an unbeaten 77 in the final to seal an eight-wicket win.

No team has won back-to-back T20 World Cup titles, so the hosts have an opportunity to make history on home soil.

Tim David has emerged as another potential match-winner that has bolted his way into the squad and he is capable of making a big impact, while big things will be expected from the likes of David Warner with the bat.

Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins are a formidable pace trio and leg-spinner Adam Zampa brings an X-Factor. Australia have a great chance of achieving a feat no other side has accomplished.

Can India make amends?

India were strongly fancied to win the rearranged T20 World Cup last year, but their challenge was all-but over soon after it had started.

They were consigned to a 10-wicket thrashing by fierce rivals in Pakistan in their first match and still looked shellshocked when New Zealand hammered them by eight wickets.

Virat Kohli stepped down as captain after that failure, with Rohit Sharma the skipper of what is another star-studded squad.

The loss of paceman Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja to injury were huge blows, but India will be expected to mount a strong challenge as the top-ranked side in the world and batter Suryakumar Yadav can make a big impact.

Buttler to deliver in first tournament as skipper?

England looked unstoppable in the World Cup last year until they were knocked out by New Zealand at the semi-final stage.

Jos Buttler has since taken over as captain after Eoin Morgan retired from international cricket, and Matthew Mott was appointed as head coach.

Buttler has recovered from injury for what will be his first tournament as skipper and will look to produce the sort of form he did in the 2021 World Cup, in which he averaged a staggering 89.66.

England have huge firepower with the bat, while Reece Topley, Mark Wood and Adil Rashid are among the bowlers Buttler will be counting on to step up as they strive to lift the trophy for a second time.

Proteas a force to be reckoned with

South Africa have never been beyond the semi-final of a T20 World Cup, but there is every chance this could be their year.

Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi and Anrich Nortje are a hostile trio of pace bowlers and they also have the wizardry of spinner Tabraiz Shamsi.

The absence of Rassie van der Dussen is a big loss, but the Proteas are not short of explosive batting with the likes of Quinton de Kock, David Miller, Rillee Rossouw and Tristan Stubbs to call upon.

David Warner could have his lifetime ban on captaining Australia lifted.

Cricket Australia (CA) ruled that the opening batter would never hold a leadership role again due to his part in the 2018 Newlands ball-tampering scandal.

Warner was seen to have been a main protagonist in Cameron Bancroft using sandpaper to try and alter the condition of the ball during the Test against South Africa in Cape Town four years ago.

The 35-year-old has been mentioned as a candidate to replace Aaron Finch as ODI skipper after he stepped down last month.

With CA directors looking at rewriting the governing body's code of ethics, Warner may get another opportunity to lead his country.

"The view within Cricket Australia is that David is doing particularly well on the field and making a great contribution off the field," CA chairman Lachlan Henderson said. 

"The first step in terms of David's leadership ban is to review the code and see if those sanctions are able to be reviewed. And the appropriate revisions to that code that would need to be made.

Henderson added: "Our intention is to review the code as quick as is practical. It's not in anyone's interest for us to delay that. It would be in time for any future leadership conversations in relation to David."

Finch remains Australia's T20 captain for the World Cup on home soil.

A half-century knock from Dawid Malan steered England to an eight-run victory in their latest T20 World Cup warm-up against Australia on Wednesday.

The Yorkshire top-order batsman posted a superb 82 off 49 balls, and combined with Moeen Ali for a fifth-wicket stand of 92 at Canberra's Manuka Oval against the world champions for a total of 178-7.

The hosts looked to threaten a successful chase throughout, with Mitchell Marsh (45) forming the bedrock of their pursuit, ably supplanted by Tim David (40) following his dismissal.

Pat Cummins supplied a late burst of pyrotechnics too, smashing a six at the start of the final over into the scoreboard to set up a nerve-jangling last act.

But Sam Curran's taut bowling, with figures of 3-25, ultimately kept any resistance at bay, to make it two wins from two for the tourists ahead of this month's tournament as Australia finished with 170-6.

Victory hands England the three-match series, with a dead rubber third encounter to come on October 14, before they play their last warm-up against Pakistan on October 17.

Curran doubles down

Having bowled the final over in the first T20I to keep Australia out at the death, it was more of the same from the Surrey left-hander, who dismissed Marcus Stonis, Glenn Maxwell and David.

If there is any doubt about his position now, it looks to have been mostly eradicated, with the 24-year-old likely to make the cut for their opener against Afghanistan on October 22.

Finch reinforces position

Back at the top of the order after Cameron Green partnered David Warner against the West Indies, Australia captain Aaron Finch appears to not be moving from his spot now.

The 35-year-old played his part in claiming the T20 World Cup last year and will do so again from his preferred position, despite a lacklustre 13 off as many balls.

England's T20 World Cup preparations are on track after an entertaining win by eight runs in the first match of their T20I series against Australia on Sunday.

Openers Jos Buttler (68) and Alex Hales (84) were central to England setting a commanding target of 209 in Perth, with their stand of 132 almost double that of any other partnership for either team.

No one else managed more than 13 for England, but Chris Woakes (13 not out from five) provided a late injection to help them pass 200 and set Australia a significant target.

Australia's response was valiant. David Warner (73) looked sharp, aided by Mitchell Marsh (36) and Marcus Stoinis. During the latter's 35 off just 15 balls, Australia looked to have turned the tide.

Mark Wood (3-34) was key to disrupting Australia's momentum as he claimed the scalps of Stoinis and Warner, though the hosts still went into the final over knowing 16 runs would seal victory.

Matthew Wade's (21) four at the start of the last over stoked hope, but Sam Curran ensured there was no dramatic late turnaround with two wickets in the space of three balls.

Hales a double threat

While Curran played an important part at the end and Buttler gave England's innings some real potency, Hales starred both with the bat and in the field.

Hales' match-high score came from 51 balls as he found a fine balance between power and composure to hang around until the 16th over, while he also made two catches.

Curran repays the faith

Having the ball for the final over was not only a show of faith, but also a real test for Curran – Australia's target of 16 at that point was hardly inconceivable.

But he held his nerve, eventually claiming two wickets and seeing England over the line in an exciting finish to the first of three clashes between the sides.

Matthew Wade says a crushing defeat to England in the last T20 World Cup was a "lightbulb moment" for Australia as the two sides prepare to do battle in a three-match series.

England hammered Australia by eight wickets with 50 balls to spare in the group stage of the T20 World Cup last year, but Aaron Finch's side went on to win the title for the first time.

Australia opted to go with a longer batting line-up after that crushing loss rather than pick five bowlers and reaped the rewards, beating New Zealand in the final.

The holders start the defence of their crown on home soil against the Black Caps at the SCG on October 22, but before then they take on an England side who are among the favourites to dethrone them.

Wicketkeeper-batter Wade feels the manner in which they were dismantled by England was a "turning point".

He said ahead of the opening match of the series at Perth Stadium: "They destroyed us in the World Cup. It was probably a turning point for the way we go about playing T20.

"We had to start to go a little bit harder, especially towards the top and then back end it with seven batters. We stuck to that formula after they destroyed us in the World Cup.

"So we're looking forward to playing them and see whether our game style [continues to work] – since then [it] has changed a little bit and hopefully we can go blow for blow with them.

"We've got seven batters now – we played six batters for a long time … but now we've got the power and we've got the depth of batting that I think you need to go with a team like England. You need to be able to score 200 to beat them on their day."

Captain Jos Buttler returns for a calf injury to lead England and Test skipper Ben Stokes is back after missing the 4-3 series win in Pakistan, but Liam Livingstone (ankle) remains sidelined.

England have won four of the past five T20Is between the two fierce rivals, but Australia have been victorious in seven of the last eight contests on home soil.

Smith in the spotlight

Australia completed a 2-0 whitewash of West Indies at The Gabba on Friday, but Steve Smith missed out once again as he fell for 17.

The former captain has not scored a T20I half-century since November 2019 and could do with some runs against England.

With Tim David having staked his claim for a place in the side and all-rounder Marcus Stoinis returning, Smith is in the spotlight.

Hales and Salt battling for opening berth

The return of Buttler at the top of the order means England will have to choose between Alex Hales and Phil Salt for the other opening spot.

Hales made a half-century in his long-awaited England comeback in the first match of the series against Pakistan, but fell for under 20 on three occasions.

Salt blasted a stunning unbeaten 88 from 41 balls in the sixth T20I in Lahore, but it remains to be seen if he will retain his place.

England captain Jos Buttler says he is "100 per cent" fit for the T20I series with Australia after recovering from a calf injury.

Buttler suffered the injury while playing in the Hundred in August and did not take part in England's series win over Pakistan.

But he returns on Sunday against world champions Australia, where they will play three matches ahead of the World Cup.

"I'm back to 100 per cent," Buttler said. "Had a good time in Pakistan rehabbing, probably could have played earlier, but with the World Cup around the corner, it was the right thing to do."

Buttler is expected to open with either Alex Hales or Phil Salt, and he is confident in England's batting capabilities.

"We have great options at the top of the order with guys in really good form in Pakistan," he added.

"They're both excellent options. Whoever I partner with will have a great go at it."

Buttler also revealed that Liam Livingstone is a doubt for the World Cup, starting later this month.

He explained Livingstone is "a little way off at the minute", saying: "Hopefully he'll get back to full fitness before the start of the World Cup."

David Warner made a blistering half-century and Mitchell Starc starred as Australia beat West Indies by 31 runs at The Gabba to seal a 2-0 Twenty20 International series whitewash.

Holders Australia continued their preparations for the T20 World Cup on home soil with another victory in Brisbane on Friday, Warner making 75 off 41 balls and Tim David 42 from just 20 deliveries in their total of 178-7.

The Windies could only muster 147-8 in reply, Starc the pick of the bowlers with 4-20 and Pat Cummins (2-32) taking his 50th Twenty20 International wicket.

Australia will now travel to Perth for the start of a three-match T20I series against England on Sunday, while West Indies will have to come through their first-round group to qualify for a World Cup Super 12 spot.

The excellent Alzarri Joseph (3-21) dismissed Cameron Green in the second over, but Warner and Aaron Finch got Australia up to 45-1 at the end of the powerplay.

Warner raced to his half-century in 30 balls, but was caught and bowled by Odean Smith in the 12th over after captain Finch fell for a scratchy 15.

Glenn Maxwell was run out for only one and Steve Smith (17) was bowled by Joseph, but David cleared the rope three times in a swashbuckling knock to give Australia some impetus before he was trapped lbw by Obed McCoy (2-33).

Kyle Mayers was brilliantly caught and bowled by Starc in the first over of the Windies' run chase, but Johnson Charles and Brandon King steadied the ship with a stand of 50.

Adam Zampa redeemed himself for dropping Charles on two by getting King (23) stumped and Starc returned to see the back of Nicholas Pooran.

An unconvincing knock from Charles (29) was ended by Green as the wickets continued to tumble, Starc doing the bulk of the damage as Akeal Hosein's knock of 25 came with the Windies never really looking like squaring the series.

Warner sets the tone

Opener Warner was outstanding at the top of the order, laying the foundations for a total that proved to be too big for the Windies to chase down.

He demonstrated his great power and sweet timing, striking three sixes and hitting another 10 boundaries as he registered a brilliant 23rd half-century for his country in the shortest format.

Starc fires, Cummins brings up half-century

Australia will be relying on Starc to be firing on all cylinders when they attempt to retain the World Cup and he bowled beautifully in Brisbane, with a mixture of control and variety.

Cummins was more expensive, but the Test captain reached the 50 T20I wickets landmark in his 44th match.

Tim Paine failed with the bat on his return to first-class cricket as the former Australia captain made just six for Tasmania on Thursday in a Sheffield Shield clash with Queensland.

The 37-year-old wicketkeeper was playing in his first such match for 20 months, resuming a playing career that ground to a halt following a sexting scandal.

Paine stepped away from playing duties when details came to light of a historic investigation into a 2017 text message exchange between Paine and a female employee at Cricket Tasmania.

It meant he missed out on leading Australia into the 2021-22 Ashes series, resigning just weeks before the battle with England began. Paine's last first-class match had seen him represent Tasmania against Western Australia in April 2021.

A cheap dismissal on his comeback, caught by Matt Renshaw off paceman Gurinder Sandhu's bowling, saw Tasmania slip to 74-6 in their first innings, before recovering slightly to post 147 all out.

Paine took a catch in Queensland's reply, holding on to remove Renshaw and give Riley Meredith a wicket, as the home team at Allan Border Field reached 70-1 at stumps.

With the T20 World Cup on the horizon, West Indies fast bowler Alzarri Joseph has vowed to keep putting in the hard yards, following a narrow 3-wicket loss to Australia in a practice match on Wednesday.

In an encounter marred by messy fielding from the Caribbean team, Matthew Wade and Mitchell Starc got the Aussies over the line, with a ball remaining, but the last over, bowled by paCer Sheldon Cottrell, was one filled with drama.  Needing just 11 from the last 6, Wade was dropped in the deep by Raymon Reifer off the second ball and an opportunity to stump Starc on his way back for the winning run was also missed out on.

As a result, the Aussies got home at 146 for 7, surpassing the West Indies' first innings tally of 145 for 9.  Aussie captain Aaron Finch batted in the unfamiliar position of 4 but top-scored with a valuable 58.  A visibly disgruntled Cottrell ended with figures of 2 for 49, while Joseph ended with a tidy 2 for 17 and 7 runs with the bat.  The bowler would admittedly have preferred a win but took some solace in a decent outing with the ball.

“For me, it’s always about trying to add that one percent every day.  Keep on trusting the process, keep on training hard and keep doing what I need to do to get the success,” Joseph said following the match.

“It wasn’t the result we wanted but we really fought hard.  We pushed Australia down to the last over, so all in all it was a fairly good performance we just have to go back and see what we can improve for the next game,” he added.

In their turn at the crease, all-rounder Kyle-Mayers led the way for the West Indies at the top of the order, scoring 39 from 36 deliveries before his innings was ended by Pat Cummings.  Reifer contributed a 23-ball 19 from the middle order but no other batsman really got going until Odean Smith’s useful 27 from 17 at the back of the innings.  He was run out by Wade.

It was, however, Josh Hazelwood who did the most damage with the ball for the Aussies as he ended with 3 for 35, while Starc and Cummings each claimed two wickets.

Australia captain Aaron Finch declared his side will continue "tinkering" until the start of the T20 World Cup after starring in a three-wicket win over West Indies on Wednesday.

The Windies set a total of 145-9 before reducing Australia to 58-5 within eight overs on the Gold Coast, but Finch (58) and Matthew Wade (39 not out) led the hosts' successful recovery.

Taking an unfamiliar role at number four in the batting order, Finch moved to within 27 runs of becoming the first Australia batsman to score 3,000 runs in T20I history.

The world champions have experimented with their line-up in recent outings, including when Cameron Green opened during last month's tour of India, and Finch expects that to continue. 

"Both teams were sloppy if they are honest with themselves," he said. "But it's good to get across the line.

"We knew that total would be a challenge on that wicket, we did really well early and they took wickets in the middle.

"It would have been nice to get us over the line, I was trying to target the boundary but mishit one. I didn't like getting the first one in the head, but I really enjoy batting in the middle order. 

"It was just something different, we might change it up in the next match. We are going to keep tinkering with things until we get to the World Cup."

Australia will begin their defence of the World Cup against New Zealand on October 22 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

West Indies lost their opening T20 International against Australia in Queensland on Wednesday by three wickets with a ball to spare to go 0-1 down in the two-match series.

West Indies white-ball Captain Nicholas Pooran on Tuesday gave his first reaction to the absence of left-hander Shimron Hetmyer from the squad preparing for their series against Australia and the subsequent ICC T20 World Cup.

Hetmyer was originally named in the 15-man squad for the Australia series and the World Cup before being replaced by Shamarh Brooks on Monday.

The Guyanese batsman, who recently captained the Guyana Amazon Warriors to a playoff appearance in the Caribbean Premier League, was scheduled to travel to Australia to join the squad on Saturday before informing CWI that he would be unable to make the flight.

He was then rebooked for a flight on Monday before, once again, informing the CWI that he wouldn’t be able to make it. CWI’s selection panel then unanimously voted to replace him with Brooks. Before scheduling the Monday flight, he was informed that failure to make the flight would leave CWI no choice but to replace him in the squad.

“To be honest, that’s not my focus at the moment,” Pooran said in a press conference on Tuesday.

“The decision has been made, there are consequences for your actions. At the moment, I just want to focus on why we’re here and how we’re going to achieve our goals. Obviously, we planned with him but, unfortunately, he’s not here and we have to plan differently now,” he added.

“He’s definitely an experienced cricketer,” was Pooran’s reaction when Australian journalists questioned him about Hetmyer’s replacement in the squad, Shamarh Brooks.

“He’s been in our white-ball set up for the last year and has been doing fantastic. He had a really good CPL as well. He has a vital role to play for us,” he added.

Brooks is fresh off a fantastic CPL playoffs where he had scores of 47, 109* and 47 to help the Jamaica Tallawahs win their third CPL title.

Captain Aaron Finch doubts Cameron Green can force his way into Australia's T20 World Cup squad, even if he dazzles in two warm-up games against West Indies this week.

Green was not included when Australia picked their 15-man group five weeks ago.

The impressive form of the 23-year-old since that selection has caught the eye, with two half-centuries in three innings against India last month showcasing his attacking talent.

Yet Finch sees his squad as being settled, with Mitchell Marsh and Marcus Stoinis on the way back to full fitness after respective ankle and side strain injuries.

Asked about Green's prospects of playing in the tournament, Finch said: "I'm not sure at the moment – I don't think so."

This is not to say Finch cannot see Green contributing immensely to Australia in the short and long term, but the World Cup decision has been taken.

"It's just one of those things," said Finch. "He had a really good tour of India, it was good for him to get an opportunity to open the batting, so he'll get more opportunities.

"He'll get an opportunity at some point in this series. The reason we've carried him is to have an extra bowling resource as well.

"Obviously his batting is exceptional, and he shows a lot with the ball. He keeps developing and he keeps improving every time he gets an opportunity."

David Warner and Mitchell Starc have returned to the Australia ranks after missing the short India series.

Australia have won two of their last three men's T20Is against West Indies (L1), including an eight-wicket victory in their most recent meeting last November.

Wednesday's series opener in Carrara will be the fourth men's T20I between the teams in Australia, and the first since West Indies won the last such game in February 2013, having been beaten in their previous two against the hosts.

Finch, Hazlewood, Cottrell closing on landmarks

There is a landmark for Finch to chase, since he is 85 away from becoming the sixth player to score 3,000 runs in men's T20I history and the first from Australia.

The skipper has struggled against the Windies, however, averaging 19.5 in eight previous T20I innings, with a high score of 53 against the Caribbean side.

West Indies have been pushed into a World Cup squad change after batter Shimron Hetmyer failed to make his intended flight, with Shamarh Brooks promoted to take his place.

Brooks is not yet in Australia, where the coming games will see a pace bowler from each side look to reach 50 wickets in T20I matches.

Australia's Josh Hazlewood is on 49, putting him one away from becoming the third Australian man to reach 50 wickets in the short format, after Adam Zampa and Mitchell Starc.

Wednesday's game will be Hazlewood's 34th T20I, and only three quicks have reached 50 wickets in fewer matches: Mark Adair, in 28 matches for Ireland; and Mustafizur Rahman, who reached the mark in 33 games for Bangladesh.

West Indies' Sheldon Cottrell has 48 wickets in the format to date, two short of becoming the fourth men's West Indies bowler to take 50, following Dwayne Bravo, Samuel Badree and Sunil Narine.

Mitchell Marsh will return to the batting order when Australia step up their T20 World Cup preparations against West Indies on Wednesday, captain Aaron Finch has confirmed.

Meanwhile, Marcus Stoinis is expected to return for Sunday's opening T20I against England, having joined Marsh in missing the recent tour of India.

Marsh has not featured since an ODI outing against Zimbabwe in August after sustaining an ankle injury, leaving Cameron Green to deputise throughout last month's 2-1 series defeat in India.

While Marsh will not bowl against the Windies, Finch believes a place at number three is his to lose, saying: "One-hundred per cent, he's made that spot his own in T20 cricket. 

"I think the way that he played in the lead-up and then through the World Cup [last year] is so important for the way that we want to play and gives us a lot of flexibility through that middle order.

"I think he had his second bowl yesterday and he felt really good. He pulled up well from it. So that's a really positive sign.

"I think for the balance of the side, it's better when they [Marsh and Stoinis] are both bowling because you can get caught a little bit short if you go in with five bowlers. But we'll work that out."

Having suffered a side strain in early September, Stoinis has not travelled to the Gold Coast for Australia's meetings with the Windies, but will join the squad in Perth for the first of three matches against England.

Finch is hopeful over Stoinis' fitness, highlighting the role of logistics in that decision as he added: "He's at a level where we think that he'll be fully fit for that first game against England.

"We were just conscious of the travel with a quick turnaround. It can be quite a high-risk game for some guys with some soft tissue injuries so he's just still planning and preparing there. 

"He's such an important part of our side and the make-up of it, especially with his bowling."

While Green performed well in India, recording scores of 62 and 52, Finch doubts whether he can force his way into Australia's 15 for the World Cup if Marsh and Stoinis stay fit.

"I don't think so," Finch added. "It's just one of those things. He had a really good tour of India. It was good for him to get an opportunity to open the batting.

"I think he'll get an opportunity at some point in this series. Obviously his batting is exceptional and he shows a lot with the ball. 

"He keeps improving every time he gets an opportunity but over the next few weeks, he'll get a run, no doubt."

Australia begin their World Cup defence against neighbours New Zealand on October 22