Australia v Bangladesh, Group A, World Twenty20, Barbados

Michael Hussey and Nannes take Australia through

Australia 141 for 7 (M Hussey 47*, Smith 27) beat Bangladesh (Shakib 28, Nannes 4-18) by 27 runs

Michael Hussey reprised his favourite role, of the rescue artist, to steer Australia to a competitive total before Dirk Nannes' pace and some world-class fielding confirmed there would be no repeat of last year's embarrassing first round World Twenty20 exit. Bangladesh's defeat also meant defending champions Pakistan, the team most likely to take the flight home in case Group A was decided on net run-rate, also progressed to the Super Eights.

Bangladesh were dreaming of another famous upset in a global tournament in the Caribbean after their armada of spinners thrived on a pitch with bounce and turn at the Kensington Oval to cut Australia to 65 for 6. The slow bowlers had been so effective that there had been no boundaries for more than ten overs after Michael Clarke got off the mark with a lovely hit over long-off in the fourth over, before Hussey and Steven Smith pounded 74 runs to push Australia to 141.

Playing with typical Australian resilience, Hussey and Smith more than doubled the total in the final seven overs. The boundary drought ended with Hussey swiping a short ball from Abdur Razzak to square leg in the 15th over. The real acceleration came two overs later, when Hussey surgically picked off 17 runs off Mashrafe Mortaza - there was an effortless flick for six, a tickle to fine leg for four and a dab to third man for four more.

Smith's runs were collected in a more brawny manner. A powerful lofted cover drive brought him his first four and there were two brutal leg-side sixes off Razzak in the penultimate over, before he was run-out for a quick 27, his first major batting performance on the international stage.

The pair's heroics came after a limp top-order show. Mortaza surprised Australia's power-hitting openers with the extra lift he extracted from the track in the opening over, but regular programming seemed to have returned when David Warner muscled a six and a four off Shafiul Islam in the next. Mortaza had Shane Watson top-edging towards backward square leg in the third over, before Bangladesh's spinners came on to choke the runs, which resulted in a slew of wickets. Neither Clarke nor the promoted Brad Haddin could score fast, and the Twenty20 specialists, David Hussey and Cameron White, also flopped to leave Australia fretting.

But on a pacy pitch, Bangladesh's top order was even more feeble. Shaun Tait worried Imrul Kayes with a string of fast and furious deliveries in the first over before trapping him with a slower one. In the next over, Tait swooped at third man to take a tough, low catch to send back the experienced Mohammad Ashraful. Nannes' short-of-a-length bowling fetched him two wickets in the fourth over when Aftab Ahmed and Mahmudullah miscued attempting cross-batted strokes. With Bangladesh at 15 for 4, both Australia and Pakistan fans were a happy lot.

Shakib and Mushfiqur Rahim, two of the best Bangladeshi batsmen, showed some fight and hitting ability in a 48-run stand but another stunning catch ended their resistance. Hussey enhanced his claim for the Man-of-the-Match award by haring back towards the square leg boundary and diving to pluck a slog-sweep from Shakib.

Bangladesh's chances evaporated with that dismissal, and they hobbled along to 114 before being bowled out in the 19th over. Australia's dominance in the field was shown by the number of dot balls they bowled - 58. The bowling attack looks fearsome, the fielding is top-notch and after sweeping through the initial phase, if Clarke's men repeat their performance against India, the odds on Australia claiming the one world title to elude them will shorten considerably.

England v Ireland, Group D, World Twenty20, Providence

Rain saves England in tense washout

England 120 for 8 (Morgan 45) v Ireland 14 for 1 - match abandoned

England inched their way into the Super Eights after a tense washed-out contest at Providence, as the same Guyana weather that had contributed to their downfall against West Indies came to their aid in a fraught and low-scoring contest against the underdogs of Ireland.

After being limited to a mediocre 120 for 8 following a superb bowling display led by Trent Johnston, England had restricted Ireland to 14 for 1 after 3.3 overs of their reply, but persistent bad weather denied them the chance to complete their run-chase, and so England went through by virtue of a superior run-rate.

It was a cruel way for Ireland's campaign to come to an end, because on a slow and cracked surface, their battery of medium-pacers had forced England to scrap for each and every single. And, in an ironic twist, the only man who came close to mastering the requirements was none other than the former Irishman, Eoin Morgan, who stood firm with a determined 45 from 37 balls.

The scenario was much as it had been when the teams last met in an international fixture, on a sticky surface at Belfast back in August, and then as now, the veteran Trent Johnston led the line impeccably. With lateral movement from a tight and full length, he claimed 1 for 14 in his four-over spell, with just a solitary boundary in his 24 deliveries, as Michael Lumb pulled a fractional short ball through midwicket for four.

Whereas Lumb and Craig Kieswetter had started like the clappers against West Indies on Monday, this time they found the shackles hard to break. Boyd Rankin spoiled his figures with a brace of leg-stump long-hops that Lumb clipped round the corner for two welcome boundaries, but that same shot soon proved to be his downfall, as Boyd Rankin stooped at short backward square to cling onto a sharp chance from the first ball of Kevin O'Brien's spell.

New Zealand v Zimbabwe, Group B, World Twenty20, Providence, West Indies 2010,

New Zealand in Super Eights after easy rain-hit win

New Zealand 36 for 1 beat Zimbabwe 84 (McCullum 3-16, Styris 3-5) by seven runs by D/L method

Zimbabwe came into the tournament as one of the form teams after shocking Pakistan and Australia in the warm-ups, but they subsided to one of the lowest Twenty20 totals against New Zealand to become the first team to bow out of the competition. After making a sprightly start, they collapsed spectacularly - losing eight wickets for sixteen runs - to ease New Zealand's path to the Super Eights.

With rain hampering play in Guyana for the second day in a row, Zimbabwe's entire campaign in the West Indies lasted only 48.2 overs. Though the end was not as farcical as the near-darkness climax to the 2007 World Cup final, they was plenty of confusion before the match ended: after play was initially halted 8.1 overs into the chase, the teams came back onto the field an hour and a half later, expecting to play a couple of overs and complete the game. The players stood around for a few minutes before officials decided no more play was possible, declaring New Zealand winners.

On the field, Nathan McCullum was the hero for New Zealand again. After his all-round heroics against Sri Lanka on Friday, he swept through the Zimbabwe middle-order to collect his second successive Man-of-the-Match award. The quick offspinners of Scott Styris also scooped up three wickets in an over to hasten the end of the innings.

Such a limp finish didn't seem likely after Zimbabwe's openers defied New Zealand on a Providence pitch offering plenty of turn. At 57 for 1 in the seventh over, things were looking good for Zimbabwe, but a sharp bit of fielding from Jacob Oram and Gareth Hopkins started the slide. Hamilton Masakadza, one of the biggest-hitters in the Zimbabwe line-up, swung the ball towards deep square leg, where Oram moved quickly to his left and fired in a slightly wayward throw; Hopkins collected yards in front of the stumps and under-armed it to catch a diving Masakadza short.

There was no resistance after that: Andy Blignaut, playing his first international game in five years, had started confidently after being pushed up to No. 3, but made a mess of a slog sweep to be bowled by Vettori.