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New Zealand 224 for 6 (Mitchell 78*, Bracewell 51, Carse 3-45) beat England 223 (Brook 135, Overton 46, Foulkes 4-41, Duffy 3-66) by four wickets There was a strong westerly wind blowing across the Bay Oval on Sunday afternoon. If you happened to cock your ear to the breeze during the first hour of play, you would have heard – clear as day – the sound of mocking laughter, floating across the Tasman Sea and down through the shires of Hobbiton.In a contest billed as the official start of the Ashes phoney war, England’s Australia-bound top-order produced a stunning false start. Jamie Smith, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jacob Bethell – Ashes bankers, bolters and, as the Aussies might now contend, bottlers – all found themselves caught up in a catastrophic collapse of 10 for 4 in 5.1 overs that was precisely as serious as the discourse that it will generate.Related

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• 135/223 – Harry Brook rewrites record books with one-man show

Jos Buttler soon joined the procession at 33 for 5, and it was a measure of the nonsensical scenario that – when Sam Curran nicked off at 56 for 6, to become the fourth wicket of Zak Foulkes’ remarkable maiden spell in ODI cricket – the time back home in the UK, thanks to the peculiarities of daylight-saving, was 1.59am: in other words, one minute prior to the contest’s original start-time.New Zealand duly wrapped up victory with time to spare as well, by four wickets and with 80 balls left unused, thanks to Michael Bracewell’s run-a-ball 51 and a 91-ball 78 from Daryl Mitchell that had to surmount its own dicey circumstances at 24 for 3, courtesy of Luke Wood and Brydon Carse’s new-ball breakthroughs – including a first-baller on his return to action for the great Kane Williamson, his first in 15 years of ODIs.Harry Brook carried England’s innings on his shoulders•Getty Images

And yet, the game would scarcely have outlasted one of last week’s rained-off T20Is had it not been for Harry Brook – England’s white-ball captain, Test vice-captain-elect, and a man in no mood to let circumstance dictate his game-plan. His response to his team’s extreme adversity was a startling lone-wolf innings of 135 from 101 balls that turned an impending humiliation into an almost serviceable total of 223 in 35.2 overs.It was Brook’s fourth century in the country, following his three hundreds across two previous Test tours, and – given the circumstances – it was more extraordinary even than his 186 at Wellington in 2023 which, for those who witnessed that onslaught, is saying something.Brook scored each of his first 36 runs in boundaries, en route to a total of nine fours and 11 sixes. The latter included three in a row off Jacob Duffy to reach his hundred from 82 balls, and four more thereafter, as he juiced 80 runs from England’s final two wickets in an innings in which just one other batter scored more than 6.That man was Jamie Overton, who contributed 46 from 54 balls in a seventh-wicket stand of 87 that wrested the momentum back from New Zealand, after Foulkes and Matt Henry had rumbled their way through 15 new-ball overs in a row. His performance had distinct echoes of a previous tussle with New Zealand – on Test debut in 2022, when he had arrived at a near-identical 55 for 6 and partnered Jonny Bairstow with a career-best 97.Once again, Overton fell short of a milestone in this innings, as he chipped a Duffy slower ball to cover, whereupon Carse joined the procession of Ashes-bound players by cutting his first ball straight to the returning Williamson at point. Brook, by then, had had one key let-off on 63, when Rachin Ravindra dropped a fast-travelling slog-sweep at square leg, but the power and clarity of his subsequent onslaught took the breath away.And to think Mitchell Santner hadn’t even been sure whether bowling first was the sensible option. Henry’s first ball of the match immediately laid any doubts to rest as he wrecked Smith’s first outing of the winter with a perfect stump-rattling inducker, one that deserved to rouse a few memories of Rory Burns’ catastrophic start to the 2021-22 Ashes proper.Brydon Carse removed Kane Williamson for his first golden duck in ODIs•Getty Images

Foulkes then ripped into the contest with the first-over wickets of Duckett, caught flinching outside off for 2, and Root, who stepped into a wild drive and was also bowled by lavish seam movement. Two Foulkes overs later, Bethell too had his off stump plucked out by a jaffa, and there seemed no earthly way for England’s innings to pull out of its death spiral.Brook, though, had other ideas. His 135 out of 223 comprised 60.53% of England’s innings, a new record that outdid Robin Smith’s legendary 167 not out against Australia in 1993 – which, coincidentally was another mighty knock that was unable to stave off ultimate defeat.England gave it a good crack, mind you. Carse, a star of last year’s Test-series win in New Zealand, matched Foulkes with two wickets in his opening over as Will Young was bowled by an inswinging yorker for 5 before Williamson snicked a first-ball snorter through to Buttler behind the stumps.Luke Wood then did for a free-flowing Ravindra, well caught by Overton at second slip as the bowler – remarkably – claimed his first List A wicket since 2019. And when Carse fired a wobble-seam delivery into Tom Latham’s shin for 24, New Zealand were 66 for 4 and in clear danger of frittering away their unbelievable start.Bracewell and Mitchell turned the tide in a fifth-wicket stand of 92, though they needed some luck along the way. Bracewell was dropped at slip on 2 by Root, in Overton’s opening over, while Mitchell had an even more glaring let-off on 33, when Wood at backward point dropped a sitter of a reverse-sweep off the legspin of Adil Rashid.With the requirement under control, however, New Zealand were able to play well within themselves – at least until Bracewell needlessly ran himself out with 66 still needed, whereupon Mitchell ramped New Zealand’s first six over fine leg to signal the final charge. Santner added two more in quick succession off Rashid before holing out to long-on for 27, but Mitchell launched the winning hit over backward square.The fireworks, and the talking points, however, had long since been and gone.

Big picture: Can Bangladesh challenge India?

Even though they haven’t been close games, the tension during the two India-Pakistan matches has made players do and say things they otherwise wouldn’t. One of them is based on facts but lacks professional humility. After beating Pakistan once again, India captain Suryakumar Yadav invoked a dominant head-to-head in recent years in order to call for an end to the term “rivalry” for these contests.There is good reason to believe Suryakumar, or any India captain, would not have said what can be interpreted as arrogant had it not been Pakistan and the current relations between the two countries. For where is a rivalry for India in recent times? Since the start of 2024, India have won 32 and lost three matches of T20I cricket.The sheer talent, now coupled with the appropriate intent, has turned India into perhaps the most formidable T20I side ever assembled. Add to it the slowness of the Dubai pitches, and India are able to experiment with just one frontline quick and getting him to bowl three overs in the powerplay.Related

• Jasprit Bumrah doing 'exceptionally tough job' at Asia Cup

• Bangladesh ready to 'ride the hype' in high-stakes India clash

• Fizz at the finish: Mustafizur Rahman is on a roll, but can he keep India quiet?

• Bangladesh solve the middle-overs riddle

• Suryakumar: India vs Pakistan isn't a rivalry anymore

Those who market the sport will not be too thrilled at such numbers because the biggest draw in sport is the possibility. If there is any consolation, though, one of the three defeats India have suffered in these two years has come against Zimbabwe.Bangladesh will go in believing they can cause an upset. They have just done that to the leaders of their group in the first round, Sri Lanka. They did so using the slowness of the conditions with Mahedi Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman combining for figures of 8-0-45-5. The reward is massive. If they can somehow beat India, Bangladesh will be a good shout to enter the final. Can they do the unthinkable, beat India for the first time since 2019, repair their 16-1 head to head, and somehow initiate a rivalry?

Form guide

India WWWWW (last five T20Is, most recent first)
Bangladesh WWLWW

In the spotlight: Sanju Samson and Mustafizur Rahman

Another experiment that India are able to work on is Sanju Samson in the middle order. Clearly, the team management seems to have decided that Samson is too good a player to be sitting out, so they are trying to create a place for him in the side now that the top order is packed with Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar and Tilak Varma. The one innings he has played there is no sample size to draw any conclusions, but there were signs he wasn’t quite at home when starting against an older ball. So eyes will be on him whenever he gets a chance to bat.4:20

Chopra: India need to give Samson a long rope

One of the challenges for Samson and the rest of the middle order will be the canny bowling of Mustafizur Rahman, who becomes double dangerous on slower pitches. He showed that against Sri Lanka with figures of 4-0-20-3. An encore could give Bangladesh a strong chance against India.

Team news: No changes expected for India

In the first round, India experimented with their combination only once their progress to the Super Four was confirmed. So don’t expect any changes to their first-choice XI, which they returned to against Pakistan.India (probable): 1 Abhishek Sharma, 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Tilak Varma, 4 Suryakumar Yadav (capt), 5 Sanju Samson (wk), 6 Shivam Dube, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Varun ChakravarthyCaptain Litton Das complained of a back strain during training two days before the match, but he should be okay to play. The one change Bangladesh are pondering is Tanzim Hasan for Shoriful Islam, who travelled for 49 runs against Sri Lanka.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Saif Hassan, 2 Tanzid Hasan, 3 Litton Das (capt. & wk), 4 Towhid Hridoy, 5 Shamim Hossain, 6 Jaker Ali, 7 Mahedi Hasan, 8 Nasum Ahmed, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Tanzim Hasan, 11 Mustafizur Rahman

Pitch and conditions

As expected, the pitches have been slow, making it difficult to score quickly in the middle overs. Expect more of the same in the extreme heat of Dubai.

Stats and trivia

• With the wicket of Fakhar Zaman, Hardik Pandya went past Yuzvendra Chahal to become India’s second-highest wicket-taker in T20I cricket, now only three behind Arshdeep Singh’s 100.
• Mustafizur is tied with Shakib Al Hasan as the most prolific wicket-taker for Bangladesh. When he does go past Shakib, he will become only the fourth bowler in T20Is to reach 150 wickets.

Sussex 350 (Simpson 129*, Coles 102, Taylor 4-106) and 63 for 7 (Taylor 4-22) beat Worcestershire 123 (Robinson 6-68, Unadkat 4-43) and 287 (Libby 72, Robinson 5-74) by three wicketsSussex survived a fourth-innings scare to secure a three-wicket win over Worcestershire on the third morning of their final Rothesay County Championship fixture of the season.The final four wickets of the Worcestershire innings fell inside 25 minutes, where the hosts could only add 16 runs to their overnight total, as Ollie Robinson took his second five wicket haul of the match. Requiring just 61 to win, Sussex made hard work of the chase, eventually knocking off the total despite Worcestershire seamer Tom Taylor finishing with 4 for 22 on his way to ending the season with 58 Division One wickets.With the fate of both sides already sealed, the visitors’ final flourish saw them secure a mid-table finish, whilst the Pear’s resilient efforts went unrewarded with relegation already confirmed.Ben Gibbon was the first wicket to fall on a troubling morning for Worcestershire, when he was pinned lbw after offering no shot to an Robinson delivery that nipped back and clipped the pad of the nightwatchman, bring an end to his stubborn knock of 13.Roderick was the next man to depart, when his innings of 27 was brought to a close by the impressive Jaydev Unadkat who claimed his seventh wicket of a match dominated by the Sussex seamers. Matthew Waite and Ben Allison were dismissed in successive balls as Robinson finished with five wickets in the innings, walking away with superb match-figures of 11 for 142.Chasing 61 to win, Sussex lost opener Tom Haines for 1 when an excellent, diving catch at slip by Rob Jones helped open the Worcestershire account.A seemingly routine chase was momentarily thrown into doubt however, as Sussex slipped to 28 for 4, losing Hughes and James Coles in consecutive overs courtesy of Taylor and Ben Allison, before Taylor struck for the 57th time this season in Division One to have Tom Alsop caught at slip.With just 16 required to win, Worcestershire refused to go down without a fight, as Matthew Waite claimed a wicket with his first ball of his spell, first-innings centurion John Simpson caught by Rehaan Edavalath after mistiming a pull shot into the deep.Taylor had time to claim his 58th wicket of the season before Waite struck for a second time with Sussex still requiring three runs, but Robinson hit his first ball through midwicket for four to ensure his side ended the season with a win.

New South Wales were charging towards a desperately-needed Sheffield Shield win, dominating an under-strength Queensland at the SCG.Declaring on 471 for 7 midway through day two, the Blues, led by a spell of 4 for 7 from Charlie Stobo, tore through Queensland’s brittle batting line-up.At stumps on Saturday, Queensland had crashed to 67 for 7, still trailing NSW by 404. They crumbled from 43 for 2 to 58 for 6 as Stobo claimed all four wickets in that collapse.Related

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Sam Geyer was forced to retire hurt late in the day after being struck on the helmet twice in two balls as he ducked into bouncers.NSW captain Jack Edwards fell painfully short of his fourth first-class century, out for 95 to former Australia legspinner Mitch Swepson.In the field, Edwards took a stunning one-handed catch at second slip to remove Jack Clayton and another excellent one to claim Jimmy Peirson during Stobo’s inspired spell.Ryan Hicks was the only member of the NSW top seven not to register a fifty. Axed Australia opener Sam Konstas brought up a confidence-boosting century on Friday, his first for NSW since October 2024.Second-placed Queensland are missing key quicks Michael Neser, who is playing his third Test for Australia, and Xavier Bartlett who is on Australia A duties.They are also undermanned in the batting department, with star opener Matt Renshaw at Allan Border Field playing for Australia A, veteran Usman Khawaja injured, and Marnus Labuschagne having been recalled to the Test team.NSW entered the match fifth on the ladder, having won just one of their five Shield matches this season.It comes just a week after they suffered an embarrassing defeat to Tasmania at Cricket Central when they capitulated on the final day on a flat pitch.