Three Lions cut for early exit

Story by Sarah Preece on 2011-02-16 11:50:48

Blue Square have cut England to just 6/1 (from 15/2) to be knocked out of the cricket World Cup in the first round. The change comes on the back of a narrow 16-run victory for Andrew Strauss' team in their opening warm-up fixture against Canada, a match where Kevin Pietersen opened the batting in a surprise selection at the top of the order.

With the Surrey batsman seemingly now inked in for the role throughout the tournament, Blue Square have also opened a book on how many runs 'KP' makes from the no.2 batting slot. They go 5/4 he fails to make 100 runs in the tournament, 10/11 he goes past 150, while it's 5/1 he accumulates a total in between the two.

Spokesman Neil Lucas said, "It was a surprise to see KP walking out with his skipper when England batted against Canada, and we're not really sure what to make of it. He'll probably be given at least a first few games to make an impact as an opener, but given how often England have chopped and changed recently he might find himself down the order quickly should he fail. It's definitely a problem position for Coach Andy Flower."

England's final warm-up match takes place against Pakistan on Friday, where they are 10/11 to record back-to-back wins.

England to qualify from Group B

• Yes 1/12
• No 6/1

Kevin Pietersen tournament runs as an opener

• Under 100 5/4
• 100-150 5/1
• Over 150 10/11

*only runs scored when opening the batting count

Warm-up - England v Pakistan

• England 10/11
• Pakistan 10/11