Cricket World Cup: Broad stars but England struggle

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011
Dates: 19 February-2 April Venues: India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh
Coverage: Highlights on BBC TV (see listings), Red Button & BBC Sport website at 2200 GMT every day (UK users only); Live Test Match Special commentary (BBC 5 live sports extra, BBC Sport website, some games also on BBC Radio 4 LW) and live text commentary on all England matches and selected other major games; Also live on Sky Sports England v Canada scorecard

Broad removed the dangerous Cheema, and took the final wicket

Stuart Broad spared England's blushes as they scraped a 16-run win over lowly Canada in a World Cup warm-up.

Matt Prior hit 78 as England were all out for 243, but Rizwan Cheema (93 from 71 balls) took Canada to within sight.

However in his first game since early December, Broad (5-37) removed Cheema before taking the last wicket with the first ball of his final over.

James Anderson missed the match with a stiff back while Kevin Pietersen hit 24 as he surprisingly opened the batting.

Canada, 2,000-1 rank outsiders at the 14-team tournament in India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh which begins on Saturday, embarrassed England at times.

When Luke Wright fell for a duck, England captain Andrew Strauss saw his men slump to 158-7 having elected to bat first in Fatullah, Bangladesh.

Prior - batting at number six, where he again looked much happier than at the top of the order - hauled England past 200.

And when Broad teamed up with Ajmal Shahzad to wreck the Canada top order, the associate nation were soon struggling at 28-5.

There was a dramatic change, however, when Cheema - recognised as a big hitter but with an indifferent record against some of Canada's more regular opponents like Ireland and Scotland - stepped to the wicket.

He cracked 10 fours and five sixes as the absence of Anderson, Tim Bresnan and Graeme Swann was keenly felt.

Anderson's back problem is expected to clear up by Friday, when England play their final warm-up against Pakistan. But Bresnan has not recovered from a calf problem and Swann spent the match in a Nottingham court-room to learn that he had been found not guilty of drink-driving.

It meant England only had 12 fit and available players for the match, with Ravi Bopara the man left out. The International Cricket Council rejected an application for Chris Tremlett, a travelling reserve, to help out with the bowling.

Of England's top eight batsmen, only Prior, the in-form Jonathan Trott (57) and Pietersen (24) reached double figures as medium-pacer Khurram Chohan wreaked havoc.

He had Strass and Ian Bell caught behind either side of seeing Pietersen drag a delivery onto his stumps.

Paul Collingwood failed the patience test on the sort of stodgy wicket that will accompany them throughout their World Cup travels. The hopelessly out-of-form Durham man was stumped on the charge after missing a leg-break from Balaji Rao.

Heavy security is set to be a big feature of the World Cup

Trott, the only England batsman to emerge with credit from the one-dayers in Australia, was suited to awkward circumstances and responded with a typically hard-working innings, adding 54 for the fifth wicket with Prior.

Prior and Broad also featured in an important stand of 51 following the dismissals of Trott, Michael Yardy and Luke Wright.

Having banked 22 runs, Broad - absent with an abdominal muscle tear since the Adelaide Test - soon showed what England had been missing with the ball after Shahzad, himself back from a hamstring injury, had removed veteran opener John Davison in the first over of the Canada chase.

Broad bowled Nitish Kumar and soon added the wicket of Ashish Bagai, the Canada captain backing away to try to carve off-side runs and looking astonished when he merely presented Pietersen with a routine catch in the gully.

One more wicket apiece for Broad and Shahzad left England's opponents in a sticky spot at 28-5, but the dashing Cheema soon began to eat away at England's confidence.

Cheema escaped a half-chance on 68 to a tumbling Yardy off Collingwood at short third-man - and greeted the return of Broad with two huge leg-side sixes.

Another attempted big hit at Broad saw him caught at last at long-off to end a stand of 60 for the seventh wicket with Chohan in only nine overs.

Yet still England's superiority was in serious doubt as Chohan shepherded the tail - until he was last out, lbw to the returning Broad with almost four overs still remaining.