The only sound one could hear after the crackle of the ball hitting the bat was crickets and other bugs. It was followed by a chuckle from the batsman, Mushfiqur Rahim

If Bangladesh are to make the World Cup quarter-finals, they have to win at least two of their next three matches.

One win. One washout. One loss. Australia wouldn't have thought that the first half of their World Cup group matches would pan out this way. But you cannot control the weather, which was really bad in Brisbane, and as Michael Clarke said, Australia were beaten by a quality New Zealand side in Auckland. Afghanistan may just run into a keyed-up outfit determined to put that narrow loss behind them.

Mitchell Johnson remains a once in a generation bowler more than a decade after he was first spotted by Dennis Lillee as a 17-year-old. No other fast man has been able to copy his successful left-arm method that mixes bouts of waywardness with spot-on strike-power. Off the field he is so shy that it is hard to believe he has taken on the role as Australia's chief marksman, a weapon capable of hitting batsmen and 155kph.

Misbah-ul-Haq, at 40, and Tauqir Ahmed, at 43, are the oldest captains in the tournament. UAE have only played Pakistan twice before, in 1994 and 1996. Both were nine-wicket wins for Pakistan. Shahid Afridi is two away from 8000 ODI runs. Assuming he gets to the mark in the next ODI, his batting average around 23.52 will be comfortably the lowest for any batsman to have hit the 8000 mark. His strike rate of around 116, however, will easily be the highest.

In dreams a woman or man you do not know may step out into view, and some quality pressing out of them is so unsettling, yet in such sharp focus, it is like they are sunset-lit.

South Africa knocked the air out of Ireland at the Manuka Oval in Canberra today outclassing them by a staggering margin of 201 runs at the World Cup 2015.

See the best moments of the group matches of ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 where England faced Sri Lanka and Pakistan locked horns with Zimbabwe.

Who will be the game-changer in the 24th match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 when Ireland face South Africa at Manuka Oval, Canberra?

Amjad Javed, Khurram Khan and Krishna Chandran Karate play cricket for the United Arab Emirates. They also work for one of the national airlines of their country, Emirates.

Sri Lanka today hauled an easy nine-wicket victory against England in the 22nd match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 at Westpac Stadium, Wellington. While answering to England's 309 runs, the Lankan top-orders -- Lahiru Thirimanne and Kumar Sangakkara -- plied their innings to the end by scoring unbeaten 139 and 117 runs respectively. Sangakkara was given the Player of the Match award for scoring his sensible ton spending 113 balls.

Mashrafe Mortaza speaks in press conference after Sri Lanka v Bangladesh match in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 on February 26.

See the highlights of the group matches of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 where New Zealand faced Australia and India clashed with United Arab Emirates.

As chance would have it, England's match against Scotland was the day after the fourth anniversary of the Christchurch earthquake.

If social media is to be believed, England's players have been enjoying themselves in Wellington. Several have been spotted in bars and restaurants.

Who will outdo others in the next round of matches at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015?

India play against United Arab Emirates at the Western Australian Cricket Association (WACA) ground at Perth in the 21st match of ICC Cricket World Cup 2015

Who will be ahead of the game in the next round of matches in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015?

Catch the best moments of the 19th match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 at Sydney where South Africa thrashed West Indies by 257 runs.

Melbourne, 1981. Trevor Chappell accedes to the instruction of his brother, Greg, to bowl the final ball of a one-day international against New Zealand under-arm with six needed to win. And one of the biggest controversies in the sport is born. It brings condemnation from many, including the third brother, Ian Chappell, and the Prime Ministers of both Australia and New Zealand.