T20 World Cup: Sam Curran stars as England beat Afghanistan; New Zealand thump Australia

Curran has developed into a reliable option at the death and his four wickets in six balls polished off Afghanistan for 112 in 19.4 overs as he became the first England bowler to claim a five-for in T20s.

England made hard work of the total, stifled by Afghanistan’s vaunted spinners, but the returning Liam Livingstone’s unbeaten 29 off 21 balls helped to secure a five-wicket win with 11 deliveries to spare.

Livingstone, taking part in his first competitive match since late August after an ankle injury, also took an outstanding catch, as did Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid and Jos Buttler in a tremendous collective fielding effort from England.

Afghanistan were on 82 for three after 14 overs but collapsed dramatically, as Ben Stokes finished with two for 19 while Mark Wood also collected two wickets and averaged 92.6mph on a springy pitch with plenty of carry – the fastest four-over bowling performance in this tournament’s history.

Watch: Amazing England catches

Aussies toil against rivals

Hosts and defending champions Australia made a false start to the T20 World Cup after an 89-run thumping defeat against New Zealand in a reversal of last year’s final.

Australia claimed their first men’s title in the shortest format after beating New Zealand in the tournament showpiece 11 months ago but the Black Caps gained a small measure of revenge at Sydney.

They flew out of the traps thanks to Finn Allen’s 42 off 16 balls while fellow opener Devon Conway’s 92 not out off 58 deliveries lifted the Kiwis to 200 for three after they were invited to bat first.

Tim Southee became the leading T20 international wicket-taker of all-time with his 123rd dismissal in fortuitous fashion as David Warner was bowled via ricochets off his leg, arm and the back of his bat.

Southee finished with three wickets for just six runs from 2.1 overs, bookending the innings when Pat Cummins shovelled in the air to be caught by Conway, as New Zealand claimed their first win in any format over their Antipodean rivals on Australian soil since December 2011.

Australia, who were bowled out for 111 in 17.1 overs, now have little room for manoeuvre if they wish to progress from the Super 12s and must now win all of their four fixtures to give themselves the best chance of qualifying for the semi-finals.

More cricket content

• T20 World Cup outright preview
• Richard Mann's T20 World Cup specials
• T20 World Cup daily best bets
• Super 12 Group 1 team-by-team guide
• Super 12 Group 2 team-by-team guide
• Antepost Angle T20 World Cup
• Latest Cricket...Only Bettor podcast
• Sky Bet's T20 World Cup betting odds

Safer gambling

We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.

If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.

Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.