Jos Buttler made a blistering half-century in his 100th game for England in the shortest format as they beat New Zealand by 20 runs to stay in the hunt for a T20 World Cup semi-final spot.

Knowing his side needed a victory at the Gabba to have a realistic chance of qualifying from Group 1, Buttler top scored with 73 off 47 balls to become his country's leading T20I run-scorer, with Alex Hales (52 from 40) also making a half-century in England's 179-6.

The England captain was dropped by Kane Williamson on eight and Daryl Mitchell when he had 40 to his name, with his team on course for 200 before a flurry of late wickets, including the brilliant Buttler being run out when he was in full flow as the Black Caps clawed it back.

New Zealand were in trouble on 28-2 after losing Devon Conway and Finn Allen, but Glenn Phillips and Williamson swung the game in their favour with a third-wicket stand of 91.

Moeen Ali dropped a simple chance to get rid of the powerful Phillips, in great touch after a brutal century against Sri Lanka, for 15 but Ben Stokes had Williamson (40) caught by Adil Rashid at short third man for a much-needed breakthrough.

Phillips was dismissed by the excellent Sam Curran (2-26) as England took the upper hand and Chris Woakes (2-33) was also outstanding to restrict the Black Caps to 159-6, sealing a victory that moved England second in Group 1 ahead of Australia with one game to play against Sri Lanka and level on points with leaders New Zealand, who face Ireland on Friday.

Buttler serves up a treat

Buttler capitalised on being given two lives to move beyond Eoin Morgan's tally of 2,458, taking his haul to 2,468 with a masterful 18th T20I half-century.

He struck two sixes and seven fours, showing a combination of sheer power and finesse to lead by example at the top of the order along with Hales.

Buttler then took a magnificent diving catch for Woakes to dismiss Conway, rising to the occasion in a must-win landmark game for the skipper.

In-form Curran steps up again

Curran has been outstanding for England in Australia, starring in a pre-tournament series success over the hosts and maintaining his fine form when it matters most.

He struck a six late in England's innings and then bowled four tight overs without conceding a boundary, also claiming the wickets of Allen and the big scalp of Phillips.

Curran also took an important catch in the deep to see the back of the dangerous Neesham as England claimed a measure of revenge for their T20 World Cup semi-final defeat to the Black Caps last year.

Rahul Dravid has no concerns over KL Rahul's lack of T20 World Cup runs as India prepare to face Bangladesh.

Opening batter Rahul has failed to reach double figures in his three innings after making a half-century in a warm-up game against Australia.

Rahul fell for nine as India were beaten by South Africa, but head coach Dravid has backed the 30-year-old to show his class ahead of a clash with the Tigers at Adelaide Oval on Wednesday.

Asked if he has concerns over Rahul's technique, Dravid replied: "No, not at all. I think he's a fantastic player and he's got a proven track record.

"He's done really well. I thought he's been batting superbly. These things can happen in a T20 game sometimes.

"It's been a tough - it's not been that easy for the sort of top order batsmen. This tournament has been pretty challenging.

"I thought he was superb in the practice game against Australia with Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins. It was a pretty good attack, and I thought he batted superbly that day. So he's actually playing really well.

"Just hoping it all clicks together over the next three or four games. We know his quality, we know his ability, and he's really well suited for these kind of conditions, these kind of pitches.

"He's got a good all-around game. He's got a very good strong back-foot game which is obviously very much required in these conditions. We're pretty confident and happy with the way he's hitting it."

India are second in Group 2, level on points with Bangladesh and one behind the Proteas.

Wanindu Hasaranga dazzled with the ball and Dhananjaya de Silva shone with the bat as Sri Lanka crushed Afghanistan by six wickets at the T20 World Cup to bolster their semi-final hopes.

After defeats to Australia and New Zealand, Sri Lanka could not afford another slip-up and produced a commanding performance at the Gabba.

Afghanistan were limited to 144-8, in which six batters reached double figures, but nobody went further than Rahmanullah Gurbaz's 28 at the top of the order.

That was in a large part down to man of the match Hasaranga's wily leg spin that brought him brilliant figures of 3-13, including the wickets of Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman in the final over.

Sri Lanka were 46-2 after 7.5 overs of their reply, but Dhananjaya was in no mood to let this one slip away, and his sublime unbeaten 66 from 42 balls saw the team home.

He cracked two sixes and six fours, including the boundary through cover that saw Sri Lanka over the winning line with nine balls to spare, reaching 148-4, nicely teeing up their final Group 1 game against England at the SCG on Saturday.

Hail Hasaranga

Already the leading performer with the ball in this year's tournament, Hasaranga's haul improved his tally to 13 wickets, and trimmed his average to 13.53.

This time around he delivered 12 dot balls and avoided being struck for a boundary as Afghanistan struggled to read him, defeat ending their hopes of going any further.

Mujeeb edges nearer landmark

Mujeeb Ur Rahman took 2-24 for Afghanistan, removing Pathum Nissanka and Bhanuka Rajapaksa, to reach 48 wickets in T20Is. After washouts against Ireland and New Zealand, he and his team-mates would have been glad to play some part in a contest on Tuesday.

Now off-spinner Mujeeb has one more chance while at this tournament to become the third Afghanistan bowler to reach 50 T20I wickets, with Afghanistan rounding off their campaign against hosts Australia on Friday in Adelaide.

Akeal Hosein and Kjorn Ottley starred as the Trinidad & Tobago Red Force began the defence of their CG Insurance Super50 Cup title with a seven-wicket win over the Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy on Monday.

After the Red Force won the toss and chose to field, Hosein ripped through the CCC batting line-up to finish with figures of 4-38 from eight overs and three deliveries. Sunil Narine and Jayden Seales also took two wickets each to help restrict the CCC to 119 all out off 33.3 overs. Jonathan Drakes and Matthew Forde got 38 and 37, respectively.

Opener Kjorn Ottley then struck a composed 65 not out from 79 balls to anchor the chase for the Red Force. His knock included eight fours. Jason Mohammed (23) and Joshua Da Silva (17) provided good support as T&T needed just 27.4 overs to reach 120-3.

Dominican left-hander Alick Athanaze struck a brilliant 133 to help the Windward Islands secure a 28-run victory over the Guyana Harpy Eagles in the CG Insurance Super50 Cup at the Queens Park Oval in Port-of-Spain on Monday.

The Harpy Eagles won the toss and elected to field, quickly regretting that decision as Windward Islands openers Athanaze and Johnson Charles put on 119 before Charles became Gudakesh Motie’s first wicket for a 63-ball 64 in the 23^rd over.

Athanaze then belted the bowling all over the Queens Park Oval, putting on a further 127 for the second wicket with Kavem Hodge. In the process, Athanaze brought up his maiden List A hundred, eventually being dismissed for 133 in the 43^rd over with the score on 246. His century included 12 fours and four sixes and came off 140 deliveries.

Hodge (42) and captain Andre Fletcher (8) were the other batsmen dismissed as the Windwards were able to post an excellent 296-4 off their 50 overs. Motie took 2-57 for Guyana.

In their reply, Guyana got contributions from most of their batsmen but it wasn’t enough in the end. Opener Tagenarine Chanderpaul, recently called up to the West Indies Test squad for the first time, was the chief scorer with a 47-ball 48 including six fours.

Contributions from Anthony Bramble (18), Leon Johnson (22), Sherfane Rutherford (28) and Kevin Sinclair (33) meant that after 40.1 overs, Guyana found themselves 220-9 needing 77 runs from 59 balls for victory.

The final pair of Gudakesh Motie and Veerasammy Permaul put up a valiant effort with a partnership of 48 before Permaul’s dismissal for 28 meant the Harpy Eagles were bowled out for 268 in 46.4 overs, giving the Windwards the 28-run win. Motie finished 31 not out off 27 balls. Shadrack Descarte took 3-41 off eight overs while Ryan John and Kenneth Dember took 2-54 and 2-46, respectively.

Hardik Pandya and Shikhar Dhawan will captain India's T20I and ODI squads respectively on their November tour of New Zealand after Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul were rested.

Hardik will lead India when they begin their tour of New Zealand with the first of three T20Is in Wellington on November 18 – just five days after the T20 World Cup in Australia ends.

One week later, they begin a three-match one-day series at Eden Park in Auckland, in which Dhawan – who led India on a tour of the West Indies earlier this year – will take the captaincy.

Rohit, Kohli and Rahul will all miss the trip to New Zealand, but as many as eight other players currently in Australia for the World Cup will be in attendance.

Hardik, Rishabh Pant, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Arshdeep Singh have all been selected for the T20I series, with Pant named vice-captain for the entire tour.

There was no place in either squad for Jasprit Bumrah or Ravindra Jadeja, however, after the duo were forced to miss the World Cup through injury.

Ben Stokes has been backed to deliver for England as they face a huge T20 World Cup match against New Zealand on Tuesday.

England are down in third in Group 1 with two games to play, dropping below Australia following their defeat of Ireland on Monday.

Jos Buttler's side cannot afford to slip up against the Black Caps, but assistant coach Paul Collingwood believes this to be the sort of scenario in which superstar Stokes thrives.

The Test captain averages just 18.57 in the shortest format and has never hit a T20I fifty, yet Collingwood has no doubt about his ability in "must-win games".

"The one person you want in your team when the pressure is on is Ben Stokes," Collingwood said.

"We all know what he's capable of, and not just match-winning innings, but match-winning innings under serious amounts of pressure.

"If it comes down to the crunch, you want a man like Ben Stokes walking out.

"It's not just what he gives with the bat – the options with the ball and the skill level he brings into the field as well. It's not always just the runs that he makes, but it's everything else that he gives.

"But I'm pretty confident there's an innings just around the corner, and now we're coming into the crucial part of the World Cup, it's almost a knockout stage for us.

"It's must-win games. You always see Ben come to the fore in those situations."

Opponents New Zealand are in a healthier position after two wins from their two completed matches, leading the standings.

But fast bowler Lockie Ferguson knows his team cannot afford complacency as they prepare to face England.

"There's a long way to go for us, and we need to make sure we take it game by game," he said.

"England's going to have a lot of firepower for us that we need to combat in this next game. I'm sure the boys will be up for the next challenge.

"[I expect] what you always expect from England. They come out very hot, they pride themselves on that aggressive nature, and they bat very deep.

"We need to come out with our own brand of aggressive play, but that's not to say it's anything different to what we have done."

Virat Kohli has hit out at an "appalling" invasion of privacy after an intruder posted a video taken from inside the former India captain's hotel room on social media.

In a video reportedly taken on October 8, two days after India arrived in Perth for a preparatory camp ahead of the T20 World Cup, an anonymous social media user filmed himself walking around Kohli's room.

Kohli made details of the video, captioned "King Kohli's hotel room", public after India's final match in Perth against South Africa, saying the intrusion had made him "paranoid". 

"I understand that fans get very happy and excited seeing their favourite players and get excited to meet them, and I've always appreciated that," Kohli wrote on Instagram.

"But this video here is appalling and it's made me feel very paranoid about my privacy. If I cannot have privacy in my own hotel room, then where can I really expect any personal space at all?

"I'm not okay with this kind of fanaticism and absolute invasion of privacy. Please respect people's privacy and not treat them as a commodity for entertainment."

Crown Resorts, which manages the hotel, subsequently apologised for the incident and said the contractors involved had been stood down from their duties.

Australia batsman David Warner replied to Kohli's post to lament the incident as "ridiculous" and "totally unacceptable", while the International Cricket Council said it was "incredibly disappointed by the gross invasion of privacy".

Aaron Finch isn't feeling "too bad" after tweaking his hamstring in Australia's T20 World Cup victory over Ireland, but will have to wait to see if it presents any further complications.

The hosts recorded a 42-run win over their opponents in Group 1 to get their title defence back on track, with their final Super 12 game against Afghanistan later this week.

After struggling with form so far this tournament, Finch returned to his best with a stirring half-century in the first innings, only to be forced off through injury as Ireland fell short in pursuit.

"I've had a bit of a hammy twinge," Finch said. "I don't feel too bad at the moment but generally overnight it can stiffen up a bit. Let's see how it goes. [I] will have a scan tomorrow."

Having posted a total of 179-5, Finch noted that he had hoped for a larger margin of victory for his side, but says they are not feeling the pressure yet.

"[It] wasn't the easiest wicket," he added. "[It was a] lot slower than we thought it would be. They bowled well, [and it] was hard to get into rhythm.

"[But we're] not feeling the pressure at all to be honest. The support from the changing room has been incredible.

"T20 is a high-risk game. Sometimes it comes off, sometimes it doesn't. It wasn't easy to come out and go after the bowling from the start."

Cricket West Indies (CWI) has announced the squad for the West Indies Women’s Under-19 training camp and trial matches to be played next month in Trinidad. The 23 players will participate in two trial matches on Tuesday, November 1 and a third trial match on Wednesday, November 2.

“The upcoming training camp in Trinidad for our Women's U19 squad will be an important component of their preparation for their inaugural tour of India which immediately follows, and also for the ICC Women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup which takes place in South Africa in January,” said CWI Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams.

“During the eight-day camp, the squad will continue its ongoing program of technical, tactical, physical and mental preparation.  The entire experience of the camp, and subsequent tour to India, will play a big role in the development of our next generation of international female cricketers who have had limited experience of playing outside the region before now.”

Following the practice matches, the players will have a skills and fitness sessions from November 4-6 under the guidance of Head Coach Steve Liburd. This is part of the preparations for upcoming tour of India from November 7-25.

This series in the sub-continent will form a crucial part of the team’s preparations for the inaugural ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2023.

The global event will feature 41 matches be played from January 14-29, 2023 in South Africa. The official warm-up matches will be from January 9-11.

The 16 participating teams will play in four groups in the preliminary round. West indies have been drawn in Group C alongside New Zealand, Ireland and Indonesia.

 Full training squad: Asabi Callender, Kenika Cassar, Jahzara Claxton, Naijanni Cumberbatch, Destiny Edward, Earnisha Fontaine, Jannillea Glasgow, Realeanna Grimmond, Trishan Holder, Zaida James, Djenaba Joseph, Maria La Foucade, Namiah Marcellin, KDJazz Mitchell, Ashmini Munisar, Niveena Ramnauth, Cyanna Retemiah, Selena Ross, Shalini Samaroo, Shunelle Sawh, Lena Scott, Abini St Jean and Kate Wilmott.

Aaron Finch returned to form with a half-century but also suffered an injury as Australia moved up to second in T20 World Cup Group 1 with a 42-run win over Ireland.

Captain Finch top scored with 63 off 44 balls as the holders posted 179-5 at the Gabba on Monday, with Marcus Stoinis making 35.

Barry McCarthy (3-29) and Josh Little (2-21) were the pick of the Ireland bowler in Brisbane.

Finch was off the field due to a hamstring problem for the run chase, but Ireland were unable to inflict more pain on him as they were all out for 137 after being reduced to 25-5 in a devastating opening four overs that saw Mitchell Starc (2-43) and Glenn Maxwell (2-14) take two wickets apiece.

Maxwell and Starc dismissed Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Curtis Campher and George Dockrell between them, with Pat Cummins cleaning up Andy Balbirnie.

A superb innings from wicketkeeper-batter Lorcan Tucker (71 not out from 48) salvaged some pride for Ireland, but they were unable to pull off another shock after stunning England last week and are down in fourth place.

The hosts will play Afghanistan in their final Super 12 game at Adelaide Oval on Friday, with group leaders New Zealand and third-placed England meeting in a huge encounter on Tuesday.

Hosts reaffirm credentials

After a humiliating defeat to the Black Caps started their tournament on the wrong foot, Australia look to be back into the swing of things.

There will be concern over Finch’s injury, though, and David Warner missed out again as he fell for only three. Ireland’s rally also prevented Australia from significantly improved their net run-rate.

Tucker tucks in

Tucker demonstrated an array of dazzling shots to frustrate Australia, hitting a six and finding the rope nine times against a top-quality attack.

Though his efforts were ultimately in vain, he blew away the previous best score for an Ireland batter in this format against Australia, exceeding Kevin O'Brien's 35 posted back in 2012.

India captain Rohit Sharma was left frustrated by his team's erratic fielding after Sunday's five-wicket defeat to South Africa.

Aiden Markram's 52 and David Miller's unbeaten 59 guided the Proteas to victory at Perth Stadium in a thrilling, but low-scoring, T20 World Cup clash.

South Africa's bowling attack – spearheaded by pace duo Wayne Parnell (3-15) and Lungi Ngidi (4-29) – reduced India to 133-9 in their 20 overs, with Suryakumar Yadav (68) the only batsman to offer any firm resistance.

Yet India had hope when Quinton de Kock, Rilee Rossouw and Temba Bavuma all fell in the first six overs of South Africa's chase. Miller and Markram subsequently steadied the ship for the Proteas, yet the latter was fortunate.

Rohit and Suryakumar both missed run-out attempts, while Markram was dropped by Kohli in the deep. Indeed, he brought up his half-century with a sliced shot that landed between two fielders on the boundary.

It was a collective effort that disappointed Rohit, who said: "I thought we fought well until the end, but South Africa played well. The pitch is such that the wicket can come any time for the seamers. It was a match-winning partnership from Miller and Markram.

"But we were not good enough on the field. We have played in such conditions, so conditions are not an excuse. We want to be consistent in that department.

"We could not hold on to our chances, we missed a few run-outs, including myself."

The victory moved South Africa top of Group 2, with the Proteas having taken five points from their opening three matches.

However, while Markram and Miller starred with the bat and Parnell and Ngidi were brilliant with the ball, it was another tough day for captain Bavuma, who scored only 10 before edging Mohammed Shami to Dinesh Karthik.

Bavuma has struggled for form in T20Is this year, with Sunday's short-lived knock only the third time he has reached double figures from 10 innings.

Former Proteas captain Markram, however, had words of support for his skipper.

"I think every player goes through these sort of form slumps," Markram said in a press conference when asked about Bavuma's struggles. "With games that are so close to each other, it can seem a lot worse than what it is.

"I think the whole team, management involved, have been there for Temba and our ideas don't change about his ability. We all know his ability and our team and the role that he plays, not just from batting, but also from a leadership point of view as well.

"His leadership in my opinion has been excellent. On-field decisions have been really good that he's making. So I've got no doubt he'll come right with the bat. If he does, and we can get off to some good starts, I think it's going to help our batting unit a lot, but certainly not doubting his ability at all.

"I think the whole team, and I can speak on behalf of the team, we all support him. It happens to everyone. We've all been through it. I've been through it more than once, unfortunately. It's always just one knock away, and that's sort of the message that Temba has been given for the time being."

Sparkling knocks from Aiden Markram and David Miller propelled South Africa to a five-wicket victory over India at the T20 World Cup.

The heavyweight nations put on a show at the Perth Stadium on Sunday, with Markram's 52 and Miller's unbeaten 59 seeing the Proteas claim a victory that moves them top of Group 2.

South Africa's bowlers had done a superb job of limiting India to 133-9 from their 20 overs, with Wayne Parnell (3-15) and Lungi Ngidi (4-29) in outstanding form.

Suryakumar Yadav's fantastic 68 ensured India had a sniff at defending a modest target, and their tails were up when Arshdeep Singh, the pick of India's bowlers with 2-25, dismissed Quinton de Kock and Rilee Rossouw in the second over.

With Temba Bavuma also falling, Markram had to get South Africa moving. His knock did not come without risk – he survived two run-out near misses and was dropped by Virat Kohli before his luck eventually ran out when he picked out Suryakumar in the deep.

Where Markram left off, Miller picked up, striking successive sixes to put South Africa in control.

Though India rallied to leave South Africa needing six runs from the final over, Miller held his nerve to get the Proteas over the line. 

Kohli's fumble proves costly

After dismissing Tristan Stubbs in his fourth and final over with the ball, Ravichandran Ashwin (1-43) is just two away from becoming India's third-highest wicket-taker in men's T20Is.

However, he really should have had a 69th T20I wicket earlier in the innings when Markram found Kohli at deep midwicket, only for the former India captain to fail to take the catch after a juggle. Markram was on 35 at the time, and went on to add a damaging 17, including a huge six, to push South Africa on.

Markram and Miller turn on the style

South Africa's pace bowlers would have been hard done by had they finished on the losing side, with Ngidi having dismantled India's top order before fellow quick Parnell chipped away at the tail.

Fortunately, Markram and Miller – who struck seven boundaries each – delivered to ensure the bowlers' work was not fruitless, with the latter stepping up to guide the Proteas home. South Africa have now won their last six completed T20 World Cup matches, a new national record.

Mohammad Rizwan crafted a fluent 49 as Pakistan eased to their first victory and kept their hopes alive at the T20 World Cup after a six-wicket triumph over the Netherlands.

Babar Azam's side suffered final-over heartbreak against both India and Zimbabwe in Australia, though had little trouble at Optus Stadium after restricting the Netherlands to just 91-9 on Sunday.

Shadab Khan tore through the Dutch batting line-up, with the leg-spinner taking 3-22. Colin Ackermann's 27 from as many balls represented the only Netherlands batter to pass 20 runs.

Despite Babar being run out by Roelof van der Merwe for just four, Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman steadied the ship before the latter fell to Brandon Glover for 20, leaving Pakistan 53-2 from 7.1 overs.

Rizwan survived a review on 39, a decision overturned after Logan van Beek failed to get his hands under a chance from Fred Klaassen's bowling, though the wicket-keeper batter was dismissed soon after.

Paul van Meekeren (1-19) had Rizwan caught behind in the 13th over and Shan Masood (12) followed to Glover (2-22), though Iftikhar Ahmed (six not out) and Shadab (four not out) saw Pakistan over the line with 37 balls to spare.

Spin torments Netherlands

Shadab and Mohammad Wasim (2-15) did the damage as the Netherlands failed to deal with Pakistan's spin bowling.

Mohammad Nawaz went wicketless from his two overs but also conceded just 11 runs as Pakistan limited the Netherlands to a score that ensured no final-over chaos was in store for Babar's side.

Pakistan reliant on other results

Pakistan will have been delighted to see Fakhar, returning from a seven-week absence after a knee injury, bat fluently in the middle order as they picked up victory in a must-win game.

Yet even if Babar's side defeat South Africa and Bangladesh in their remaining Group 2 games, they will need other results to go their way to make the top two, starting with India beating the Proteas later on Sunday.

Bangladesh edged past Zimbabwe by three runs in another chaotic T20 World Cup final-over thriller at the Gabba on Sunday to keep alive their T20 World Cup semi-final hopes.

Zimbabwe needed five off the final delivery, and the Tigers thought they had claimed victory when wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan stumped Blessing Muzarabani, as both sides shook hands and left the field of play.

But the third umpire called players back on in bizarre scenes with Nurul deemed to have illegally taken the ball before it passed the stumps, with the dismissal overturned and the delivery deemed a no-ball, forcing it to be re-bowled as a free hit, with Zimbabwe needing four for victory.

After the chaos, however, spinner Mosaddek Hossain held his nerve with the ball as Muzarabani swung and missed, to clinch the points for Bangladesh.

Bangladesh captain Shakib Al-Hasan had earlier produced a spectacular direct-hit run out to dismiss Sean Williams for 64 from 42 balls, after he had rescued Zimbabwe from 35-4 to take them within sight of victory.

The Tigers posted 150-7 led by opener Najmul Hossain Shanto with 71 from 55 balls, but Zimbabwe may have restricted them to less if not for poor fielding which cursed them. Richard Ngarava was Zimbabwe's best with the ball, taking 2-24.

More final-over World Cup madness

Zimbabwe needed 16 off the final over from Mosaddek for victory and appeared gone after Brad Evans was caught in the deep by Afif Hossain.

But this World Cup offered another few final over twists, with four leg byes followed by Richie Ngarava's six over fine leg, only to be stumped when the equation was in his favour, needing five off two.

Tigers bowlers prove the difference

Opening bowler Taskin Ahmed (3-19) was named Player of the Match after his spell decimated the Zimbabwean top order, getting both openers inside the first three overs. Taskin also sent down 15 dot balls and bowled a rare maiden, with his three-wicket haul taking him to eight dismissals in the World Cup.

Left-armer Mustafizur Rahman was excellent too with an economical 2-15, but Shakib's decision to bowl him out in the 17th over almost backfired at the death.