Coming up ... West Indies v Australia in the opening game of the Super Eight stage.

RESULT: ENGLAND HAVE BEATEN KENYA BY SEVEN WICKETS

England have qualified for the Super Eights and finally found some form. Asked to bowl after a rain-delayed start, they skittled Kenya out for 178, with Andrew Flintoff and James Anderson finding promising swing and taking two wickets apiece. Ed Joyce and Kevin Pietersen then hit half-centuries to help England surpass their target with ten of a 43-over allocation to spare. In St Kitt's, South Africa's batsmen collapsed to 294 all out chasing Australia's 377-6. Times Online, meanwhile, devoted its commentary to Paul Nixon, the cult England figure who had a quiet game today but is surely still deserving of such an honour.

England 178-3 (Pietersen 56 Collingwood 18) Overs: 33 Target: 178
With the scores level, Pietersen glides the final ball of the over through midwicket to run the single required for victory. England have qualified for the Super Eights.

England 176-3 (Pietersen 55 Collingwood 17) Overs: 32 Target: 178
Five runs for Collingwood, struggling for details. Expecting the victory in that over, I'd started writing a conclusion.

Nico watch
He's on the pavilion balcony, chattering to Ed Joyce, who's trying to eat his supper. Not much, but it's the first sighting for a while.

England 171-3 (Pietersen 55 Collingwood 12) Overs: 30 Target: 178
Collingwood opens his shoulders and hits two fours on the offside. Eleven to win. Incidentally, we even had an email from Nico's hometown in Cumbria: "A genuine down-to-earth guy. Never lost his roots and always has time for the locals in Langwathby. Keep it up Paul," said Jo Merrie, making a pleasant little revelation that suprises TO not one jot.

England 157-3 (Pietersen 52 Collingwood 0) Overs: 29 Target: 178
Oduya, a legspinner who apparently succumbed to the yips and has only recently returned to bowling, begins with three full tosses. Collingwood choses not to punish him, alas. England need only 19 to win.

WICKET! Joyce b Tikolo 75
Tikolo beats Joyce with a Dhoosra. Joyce expected offspin, but the delivery turned the other way and darted through his gate, ending an excellent innings from the Middlesex batsman. England are 155-3 from 26 overs.

England 148-2 (Joyce 66 Pietersen 48) Overs: 25 Target: 178
Joyce stands his ground and plays a late cut that runs to the rope at gully. The Irishman has finally found some form in the tournament. As he usually does, Pietersen looks comfortable too. "By far, England's best player. Along with Vaughan, Flintoff and Collingwood, he can turn a game," says Athers, omitting one England player from an otherwise accurate list.

England 137-2 (Joyce 62 Pietersen 47) Overs: 24 Target: 178
Joyce eases onto his back foot and slashes to the point boundary. On the Nico debate, James, from London, wrote: "'Nico' should be given a lot of credit for his continued professionalism, commitment to the game and never giving up. He shouldn't be criticised for helping to bring some extra life to the England team. Banter is part of sport now and everybody playing knows, accepts, and more often than not, enjoys it. It's just a bit of fun." Nice one, John. Kenya were 103-5 at the same stage of their innings.

England 131-2 (Joyce 62 Pietersen 40) Overs: 23 Target: 178
Joyce lofts a delivery from Varaiya over his head for four. England need 47 to win from 20 overs.

England 127-2 (Joyce 59 Pietersen 39) Overs: 21 Target: 178
McClaren has spoken: "We should have won that game. We started the game slowly. Once we got into our rhythm. We got shots on targets, balls into the box, but poor quality, poor finishing cost us. They packed the defence, so it's always going to be hard. But we have to have better quality than that." The washout makes England's recent goalscoring record their worst in 26 years. Whether McClaren realises the import of this failure is unclear. "At this level you've got to score goals," he said. Worse still, Croatia have equalised against Macedonia. Still, John W is having fun:

A brilliant piece of cricket has now made Australia firm favourites here at Warner Park. The ball after Herschelle Gibbs had hit Brad Hogg for a straight six, he pushed at a googly, was comprehensively beaten and, with his back foot raised, was stumped as Adam Gilchrist whipped off the bails. Graeme Smith has yet to reappear after suffering cramp and South Africa are struggling.

England 106-2 (Joyce 51 Pietersen 27) Overs: 19 Target: 17
Joyce hooks a short ball to reach his half-century with a boundary, his 63rd ball faced. The shot also brings up the 50 partnership, an achievement that makes it necessary relay some rather more positive thoughts on Nico - stay logged. Russia, I should add, are no longer level on points with Estonia. A 2-0 win over Estonia has put them three points ahead. Croatia, though, are losing 1-0 to Macedonia. Remember, The Sunday Times's writers analyses of another McClaren night-to-forget will be online soon.

England 102-2 (Joyce 47 Pietersen 27) Overs: 18 Target: 178
England have drawn 0-0 with Israel, leaving the two sides level on eight points with Russia, who have a game in hand. Croatia still lead the group with 10 points but could extend that gap if they beat Macedonia tonight. Response to follow from McClaren, doubtless currently searching frantically for a bright side. Pietersen clubs another four to make it 12 from the over.

England 90-2 (Joyce 47 Pietersen 19) Overs: 16 Target: 178
Just a single each facing Varaiya, who give the ball good flight and is still finding turn. Responding to the suggestion that Nico's arrival turned England's tour of Australia, Brian Taylor, of Nottingham wrote: "Paul Nixon should have been asked how he sledged Mike Hussey into giving a man of the match winning performance; and about how his criticism of Hussey for not walking squares with his own policy of not walking. How would he answer the charge of hypocrisy, deceit, dishonesty, call it what you will? As a matter of record, England's performances did not improve soon after Nixon started playing, but when Joyce got a century which the bowlers could defend. Then followed Collingwood's heroics."

England 88-2 (Joyce 46 Pietersen 18) Overs: 15 Target: 178
Pietersen clubs a good delivery with disdain wide of mid-off and to the boundary. Currently ranked the No 2 one-day batsman in the world. the England man could usurp Michael Hussey today, taking advantage of the Australian's five-run innings against South Africa. John Westerby has emailed again:

Another potentially major development, Smith developed cramp and was forced to retire hurt on 72, having looked in commanding form. South Africa now have two new batsmen at the crease, Kallis and Gibbs, just as Australia are taking the second powerplay. A few dead overs could easily turn this game, but there haven't been many of those so far, so we'll wait and see ...

England 83-2 (Joyce 44 Pietersen 10) Overs: 14 Target: 178
Dropped! Hiren Varaiya bowls a beauty to Pietersen, turning his first ball away from the bat and taking an edge to the wicket-keeper - but he drops it. That mistake could cost Kenya the match. Pietersen skies the next delivery but it drops safely, a bad shot that demands the inclusion of the following email from Caro in Sydney: "I love Nixon and his sledging. Hope he keeps it up! Just as long as England focus on important things like this and not on playing well. And it also means the English media and fans can't be so self-righteous about the sledging by Australians and South Africans!"

England 76-2 (Joyce 44 Pietersen 7) Overs: 13 Target: 178
Bowling his first over, Tony Suji strikes Pietersen on the pads with a delivery drifting down leg, then concedes a single from a push towards point. England are still scoreless against Israel after 70 minutes, upsetting the Sky pundits but, it seems, cheering their producers - they've taken to advertising Wednesday's match against Andorra, normally a tough sell but now a game of some importance for Steve McClaren's men.

England 74-2 (Joyce 44 Pietersen 6) Overs: 11 Target: 178
Joyce eases on to his back foot and punches through the offside for another boundary, bringing his innings to 38 from 39. "He has a little bit of Graeme Thorpe about him, the way he picks his bat up, which is unusual for a left-hander," says Hussain, timing his observation perfectly. Joyce hooks the next for a maximum. Rowan Atkinson as England wicket-keeper? TO's OBO department could only dream of such a scenario.

England 61-2 (Joyce 32 Pietersen 6) Overs: 10 Target: 178
Joyce turns a straight delivery down leg side, before Pietersen runs a quick single. Peter McGuinness, from the Gold Coast, was also unimpressed by today's hero: "Is the fact that Paul Nixon is an extremely ordinary - if not below average - wicketkeeper and batsman at all relevant? If the task of keeping wicket for England is about weird, self-conscious mannerisms, verbal ability and rubbery facial expressions, then why not select Rowan Atkinson?

"As an Aussie, I'm pleased he's in the team - may he long be there. Please bring Giles back while you're at it. As a cricket fan, I'm extremely disappointed for Chris Read - clearly the best keeper.

If we're to accept that Read has done something behind the scenes to deserve his otherwise inexplicable exclusion. Is Paul Nixon seriously the second best keeper of wickets in all of English cricket? Say it ain't so."

Graeme Smith, the South Africa captain, has retired hurt with his side 185-1, leaving his side needing 192 runs to win from 24.4 overs.

England 57-2 (Joyce 31 Pietersen 4) Overs: 10 Target: 178
How, Chris, have you lost touch with detailed press reports with the internet's best newspaper site on your history? Joyce takes just a single, before Pietersen defends the concluding delivery. Tikolo calls a power play.

England 56-2 (Joyce 31 Pietersen 4) Overs: 9 Target: 178
Four! Pietersen thumps his first delivery low to mid-on, and slices the next. Writing on Nico from Toronto, Chris said: "Having lost touch with live coverage of the game on TV over the years, and with detailed press reports (I live near Toronto), I was totally unaware that claptrap talk such as that used by Paul Nixon was deemed part of the game. I did know about sledging, but I thought that was an Australian invention - one would expect it from them. The best thing that could happen is that Nixon should keep his mouth shut, and play the game as it was meant to be played, and in his case, probably on the village greens of England, far away from national exposure. Disgusting is the word for it."

WICKET! Bell c sub b Odoyo 16
Bell again skips down the wicket, middles but directs his shot directly to the man at mid-off. Pietersen's next.

England 47-1 (Joyce 25 Bell 16) Overs: 8 Target: 178
Not out! Bell survives a run out decision referred to the third umpire, Billy Doctrove, a desperate dive saving his wicket. Ongondo then makes the mistake of landing a short ball on a slow wicket. Joyce gives it the right punishment, before hitting a square drive to make it consecutive boundaries and eleven from the over. Enthusiastically availing of a deadline-free day, The Times's John Westerby has posted yet another update from St Kitts:

Fielding was always likely to play a big part in this game and a brilliant piece of work from Shane Watson has just given Australia a much-needed boost. Throwing from the deep square-leg boundary, Watson hit the wickets directly with just one stump to aim at, leaving AB de Villiers sprawling short of his ground as he attempted a second run. DeVilliers had played brilliantly for his 92 and shared an opening stand of 160 with Graeme Smith. How much will that dismissal interrupt South Africa's progress?

England 36-1 (Joyce 15 Bell 15) Overs: 7 Target: 178
Bell clips a poor delivery from Odoyo to leg but a brilliant stop in the field prevents the boundary. Kenya's modest total has allowed them little margin for error in the field. That the next ball was an outswinging wide did not help their cause. Nico divided opinion of those who emailed. Many praised today's featured player for his enthusiasm and personality, but there were others who argued that his technique does not merit him a call-up.

England 30-1 (Joyce 14 Bell 13) Overs: 6 Target: 178
Dropped! Obuya dives foward to a flashing cut from Bell, but drops a difficult chance. The next ball strikes Bells' pads, but he has moved too far down the wicket for the umpire to act. Poor fielding then hands Joyce three from an innocuous push, not that many of those present witnessed it. John Westerby, The Times correspondent at the ground, explains:

England's back-to-basic style of top-order batting does not seem to have made much of an impression on the St Lucia cricket-lovers. A big crowd has gathered in one of the concourses to watch TV coverage of South Africa's attempt to score 378 to beat Australia. Meanwhile, in the fans zone behind the Gros Islet Stand, hundreds are dancing to Bob Marley covers rather than watching Ed Joyce and Ian Bell.

England 22-1 (Joyce 11 Bell 8) Overs: 5 Target: 178
Bell takes two steps down the pitch and straight bats to the mid-off boundary, showing the aggression he added to his game over the winter in Australia. England and Israel have reached half-time scoreless. Remember, you can read The Sunday Times's coverage of all of today's Euro 2008 qualifiers online this evening.

WICKET! Vaughan c Obuya b Ongondo 1
Bad shot from the England captain, edging Peter Ongondo - Athers tried it - to second slip, whether Collins Obuya held two-handed with an expert diving catch. England are 12-1 from four overs.

England 9-0 (Joyce 5 Vaughan 0) Overs: 3 Target: 178
Joyce rolls his wrists to add another boundary. He then almost pulls an excellent delivery on to his stumps. The commentators have avoided trying to pronounce the surname of either new-ball bowler, sadly highlighting TO's inability to identify either man. John Westerby, a far better informed correspondent, writes from the Australia game:

Building up nicely here in Basseterre. On this gorgeous wicket with a fast outfield and small boundaries, South Africa are making good progress in pursuit of 377, deVilliers and Smith taking them to 126 without loss in the 17th over. Shrewdly, Ricky Ponting has delayed the second powerplay and brought on Brad Hogg to take the pace off the ball. Australia need a wicket to regain a semblance of control.

England 5-0 (Joyce 5 Vaughan 0) Overs: 2 Target: 178
Joyce steps forward to a delivery and drives confidently through cover to score his first boundary. Having exhausted our researchers' Nico facts, we shall turn to some of the opinions that readers have emailed regarding our garrulous protagonist.

England 1-0 (Joyce 1 Vaughan 0) Overs: 1 Target: 178
Joyce faces four dot-balls and then runs a single, culminating an over that TO missed because it had dashed to the canteen.

END OF INNINGS: Kenya 177 all out from 43 overs

WICKET! Onyango run out (Nico) 9
Timing his final contribution to the innings perfectly, and engaging the Nico watch for possibly the final time today, our man stops a thick edge behind with a one-handed dive and then removes the non-striker with a direct hit. That's the end of the Kenya innings.

Kenya 173-9 (Onyango 9 Varaiya 0) Overs: 42
Ongondo had dugs out another inswinging yorker from Freddie, who oddly has not been given any attacking fielders. Collingwood then stops another boundary with a brilliant piece of fielding, volleying the ball away from the rope at the last moment. Two overs left.

WICKET! Ongondo run out (Vaughan) 3
Ongondo hesitates after his partner digs out a yorker, on this occasion from Mahmood. Reading the situation quickly, Vaughan scampers towards the wicket and hits with an underarm throw.

WICKET! Tikolo b Flintoff 76
Recalled to the attack, Flintoff removes Tikolo with an excellent inswinging yorker. It has been a very good innings from Kenya's best player. With none of his team-mates offering him decent support, he hit 76 in 97 deliveries, and struck eight fours.

Kenya 161-7 (Tikolo 76 Onyango 5) Overs: 40
A misfield from the final ball makes it six from Mahmood's over. Progressing at their required seven-an-over run rate, South Africa have reached 68-0 from only nine overs.

Kenya 156-7 (Tikolo 73 Onyango 4) Overs: 39
Tikolo hits Anderson on the full, clipping it over Panesar at square leg. Cheeky shot but Monty fields it well, if a little ungainly. Anderson finishes with 2-27 from his nine overs. Nico fact: he is regarded by most as England's best proponent of the reverse sweep, having perfected possibly the least useful shot in cricket.

Kenya 154-7 (Tikolo 70 Onyango 1) Overs: 38
England and Israel have taken to the field in their Euro 2008 qualifier. Here's the England team: Paul Robinson, Phil Neville, John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Jamie Carragher, Steven Gerrard, Aaron Lennon, Owen Hargreaves, Wayne Rooney, Andy Johnson. Yup, that's Phil Neville. Just two singles conceded by Monty.

Kenya 152-7 (Tikolo 69 Onyango 0) Overs: 37
Onyango reads another slower ball, defending it comfortably, making it three runs for a wicket from Collingwood's over. "England will be happy," Botham concludes, with some insight.

WICKET! Kamande b Collingwood 17
Just as Kamande decides to slog through the onside, Collingwood produces a slower ball that beats the bat and strikes offstump.

Kenya 144-6 (Tikolo 62 Kamande 16) Overs: 35
Collingwood drifts a delivery down legside to Kamande, who accepts the gift and fine-cuts to the leg gully boundary, Monty's failing to reach the ball despite a galloping chase. A single makes it six from the over, with only eight overs left for England to bowl. Nico fact: He does an exercise that involves spinning around and balancing on one leg while catching bean bags to improve the functioning of his cerebullum. His word.

Kenya 138-6 (Tikolo 62 Kamande 11) Overs: 34
Nico played for Carlisle FC reserves. He trained with Leicester Tigers after impressing Martin Johnson with his ferocity in the gym that they shared. His memory is so bad he can't remember much of his early career. Almost as interesting is that Kamande has just hit his first four, with Monty his victim.

Kenya 132-6 (Tikolo 62 Kamande 2) Overs: 33
England fail to capitalise on two mix-ups between the batsmen. Anderson, the incumbent bowler, kicks the dirt in frustration after the second missed throw but then adds to the frustration by sending down a wide. Right, time for some intriguiing Nico facts.

Kenya 130-6 (Tikolo 62 Kamande 2) Overs: 32
Tikolo sends a late cut against Monty's bowling past point, Michael Vaughan failing with his dive to prevent the boundary. Two singles make it six from six. The camera pans to the chap behind the scoreboard, tirelessly noting every delivery. TO has some sympathy, but it's not as if he has too write about the game, too.

Kenya 119-6 (Tikolo 55 Kamande 0) Overs: 30
Good over from Monty, conceding only two. South Africa have started briskly in St Kitts. Here's John Westerby, The Times correspondent:

Never has a team been so relieved to concede 377 for six. At 201 for two after 30 overs, a 400-plus total looked likely, but South Africa bowled well in the last ten overs. Michael Clarke hit some sparky late blows and such a total definitely makes Australia favourites, but these two teams have previous. Remember Johannesburg 12 months ago, when Australia made 434 and were beaten? Well, AB de Villiers has just pulled the fifth ball of the innings for six, so South Africa are up and running. Fasten those seatbelts, please.

Kenya 117-6 (Tikolo 50 Kamande 0) Overs: 29
Tikolo dollies Flintoff to mid-on, but Ed Joyce drops an easy chance. "England could have walked into the Super Eights with that wicket," sighs Hussain. Flintoff then beats Kamande for pace, missing out on lbw only because the batsman played late and thick-edged to leg gully. "Excellent bowling, he's back," says Hussain, picking up.

Kenya 113-6 (Tikolo 50 Kamande 0) Overs: 28
Monty drifts a delivery into Kamande and finds spin that sends it moving sharply away from the bat. The Nico watch could yet overheat: "Aaaah! Nice, nice," our man cries through his gumshield. Earlier, Tikolo reached his half-century with another smart drive through the covers.

Kenya 112-6 (Tikolo 48 Kamande 0) Overs: 27
Flintoff appeals far more enthusiastically after striking Kamande on the pads with his first ball faced, but umpire Peter Packer is unmoved. Hawk-eye reckons he's wrong this time, though.

WICKET! Odoyo lbw Flintoff 4
Flintoff darts a delivery pitching outside offstump back into the batsman. His appeal is halfhearted but the umpire still raises his finger. Hawkeye supports the decision, suggesting the ball was set to remove legstump.

Kenya 109-5 (Tikolo 48 Odoyo 2) Overs: 26
Monty dives at a soft forward-defensive but the ball lands just beyond his reach. Still, it cranked the Nico watch into gear: "Catch it!" our man suggested, loudly.

Kenya 107-5 (Tikolo 46 Odoyo 2) Overs: 25
Flintoff concedes three singles and then delivers a wide, England's eighth no-ball. Finally, Nico and his moral defeat of Michael Clarke after the Australia batsman had changed the sticker on his bat: “That old sticker, Michael," Nico said. "It was always lucky for you. The new one’s not going to bring you the same luck, wait and you see.”

“Nixon,” replied Clarke, “you’re a club cricketer. The club cricketer who’s also a member of Dad’s Army.”

“How’s it going to feel, Michael, to be caught by a club cricketer?" asked Nico, adding, "How. Is. That. Going. To. Feel? You know what, you’re going to make a club cricketer’s day.”

Kenya 103-5 (Tikolo 41 Odoyo 0) Overs: 24
Tikolo hammers a short and wide delivery from Monty to the square-leg rope, making it four and a run-out from his first over. Here's Nico on how to upset Australia's captain: "Ricky Ponting was harder, because he was in amazing form. ‘Ricky, I don’t think you’re that good at picking up a slow ball’. But with Ponting, it’s better to get his mind off the game, get him out of the present. ‘What about the team for next week, Ricky, picked it yet? I saw those jazzy shoes you had made for yourself, very cool’.”

WICKET! Obuya run out Bopara 10
Scotland have won! Craig Beattie scored a late goal against Georgia to give Alex McLeish a 2-1 win in his first game in charge. Obuya, menanwhile, was run out by his captain, who rejected a single from an edge to behind the wicket even though it should have been Obuya's call. "He's furious," laughs Botham of the departing batsman.

Kenya 99-4 (Tikolo 41 Obuya 10) Overs: 23
Welcoming Andrew Symonds to the crease Down Under, Nico smiled: "Ah, Symo, great to see you, mate. How’s everyone, the family?’ ‘I know you, Symo. If you edge me and I take the catch, I’m going to send you a copy of the scorecard, to your home, every day for a year’. For now he is happy to chirrup praise to Paul Collingwood. "Yes, Colly," he cries repeatedly, until Obuya launches Colly's middling medium pace over mid-on for a boundary.

Kenya 90-4 (Tikolo 39 Obuya 1) Overs: 22
Tikolo finds the rope with another classical drive. He gets the same reward from a thick edge through the empty slips. Vaughan then picks up a thump to mid-off. Australia have finished on 377-6, the third-highest score ever achieved in the World Cup. Now, for that rasping wit, as collated by David Walsh of The Sunday Times in his excellent profile of Nico.

Kenya 77-4 (Tikolo 28 Obuya 1) Overs: 20
Obuya digs out a good yorker from Mahmood to score his first run. Tikolo takes another single with a drive through the covers. A slower ball then draws a forward defensive. Australia have lost Michael Hussey. They're now on 356-5. Even with so many runs scored by Australia, one is tempted to wonder how Nico might react to their sudden fall of wickets. Some sledging, presumably, though he has a more sinister description for it: "All I do is drip-feed negativity into a man’s brains."

Kenya 74-4 (Tikolo 27 Obuya 0) Overs: 19
Tikolo has faced only 32 balls for his 27 and is playing well. He needs a partner, though, if Kenya are to challenge for this match.

WICKET! Mishra b Collingwood 0|
Collingwood drags on to the stumps, another poor shot against a delivery that kept low. The Aussies have lost another wicket, too, Michael Clarke being run out for 92. Australia are now 349-4, with four overs still to face.

Kenya 73-3 (Tikolo 26 Mishra 0) Overs: 18
Mahmood opened with two slower balls, the second of which Tikolo anticipated and sent to the mid-on boundary. He then hooked a slower, short ball for a single before Suji forfeited his wicket. Steve Waugh, incidentally, had more to say about Nico, a team-mate of his at Kent. "This guy makes Ian Healy [lippy Aussie wicket-keeper] look like a choir boy, with his rasping wit, enthusiasm and stunningly accurate assessments of opponents." We'll have some examples of that rasping wit later.

WICKET! Suji c Vaughan b Mahmood 14
Suji dollies a tame shot straight to the England captain, positioned at silly mid-off. In St Kitts, Australia have lost Ricky Ponting for 91. Ireland have beaten Wales 1-0. Staunton survives, alas.

Kenya 67-2 (Suji 13 Tikolo 19) Overs: 17
Tikolo runs one off a sloced delivery from Mahmood over the slips. Suji then runs a single with a clip through midwicket. If Kenya continue at their current rate of about four an over, they'll post 170. Tikolo misses with a pull shot against Collingwood, the ball landing in Nico's glove. Unimpressed, Collingwood trudges back to his mark, Nico's roaring appeal echoing around the ground. Kenya's are cruelly picking out Monty in the field. Vaughan has already moved him once, now he's hiding at mid-on.

Kenya 62-2 (Suji 11 Tikolo 17) Overs: 15
Tikolo elegantly pushes Collingwood's delivery through the covers, running two. A misfield from Vaughan almost adds to the Kenya score, but they chose not to risk a run. Alll of which is only marginally less entertaining than the Kevin Doyle shot that just hit the crossbar. Lucky escape for Wales. And Staunton.

Kenya 59-2 (Suji 11 Tikolo 15) Overs: 14
Mahmood is fortunate not to conceded runs with a delivery that drifts down legside and is stopped one-handed by you-know-who. Mahmood oversteps his mark with the next, but then finds an edge. The lack of a second slip keeps Suji at the wicket. A slower ball then wholly deceives Suji, prompting a smile of acknowledgement from the Kenya captain. Australia are now a frightening 282-2 against the team ranked as the best in one-day cricket.

Kenya 53-2 (Suji 9 Tikolo 14) Overs: 13
Nico watch: Bopara hits Tikolo high on the pads from his second ball, a delivery clearly locked on a path over the stumps. Expertly masking his inner calm, Nico roars a request to the umpire. "Pretty confident appeal from Nixon," notes Michael Holding. "Then again, he appeals to almost everything." The Kenya captain drives the next delivery for four. "Come on, lad," says Nico, unperturbed, to the young bowler.

Kenya 47-1 (Suji 9 Tikolo 8) Overs: 12
Vaughan calls his first power play, presumably hoping to capitalise on having two new batsmen at the crease. Flintoff oversteps his mark again. Remember, the tireless Patrick Kidd updates his inimitable weblog coverage of the World Cup regularly. His most recent entry includes a text from his Auntie. Go on, you know you want to.

Kenya 43-1 (Suji 6 Tikolo 8) Overs: 11
Tikolo, Kenya's best batsman, hits consecutive Anderson for consecutive fours, the first a drive through the covers for four, a second an edge through the gap wide of first slip. Anderson's responds to the first is to bend over in apparent exhaustion. For the second, he just stares at Tikolo. "Something's not right," says Botham. "Looks like he's struggling, Jimmy Anderson."

WICKET! Oumah c Collingwood b Anderson 13
Collingwood collects a poor lofted drive to mid-on, prompting a good observation from Hussain: "Clever from England. Collingwood usually fields at backward-point but Michael Vaughan must have realised you need a good fielder at mid-on against Oumah." True, but Nico's contribution should not be underestimated.

Kenya 35-1 (Oumah 13 Suji 1) Overs: 10
Nas has admitted defeat. "A good score for Kenya will make England a little bit jittery," he sighs. "Two hundred from Kenya and the dressing room will be looking at each other: 'Are we going home here?'" Not Nico, an asset probably best described by Steve Waugh: "He's like a mosquito buzzing around in the dark of the night that needs to be swatted but always escapes. "Good bowling, Fred," cries Nico, expertly responding to a momentary decline in England's mood.

Kenya 28-1 (Oumah 9 Suji 1) Overs: 9
"Little bit surprised by Steve Tikolo's decision to bat. Duncan Fletcher admitted his side didn't know what was a good total on this surface against New Zealand," says Nasser Hussain. "I don't think Kenya's batsman will know." Botham offers a shot of reality: "England's record of chasing totals against spinners is not good, Nas." Just a single and a leg bye from Anderson's over.

Kenya 26-1 (Oumah 9 Suji 1) Overs: 8
Flintoff stops two runs off his own bowling with a diving block from Suji's cover drive. Two from the over. Freddie is not quite bowling with the menace we expected.

Kenya 24-1 (Oumah 9 Suji 1) Overs: 7
Anderson drifts his first bad ball down legside and concedes four byes. With nice timing, Oumah drifts a straight ball through square leg for another four. A single makes it nine from the over. Nico watch: More rapid-talk encouragement for Anderson. The stumps mic fail to pick up his words but the scene does call to mind another rather sobering revelation from that interview. "I've been working with Wynford Dore of the Dyslexia Foundation and he's calmed me down and helped my focus enormously," Nico told the Guardian man, while probably hopping from one foot to the other.

Kenya 15-1 (Oumah 4 Suji 1) Overs: 6
Called to the attack, and surely desperate to expunge some frustration, Flintoff has a soft lbw appeal after striking Oumah high on the pads. He then oversteps his mark to concede a no-ball. An edge from Suji moves him into credit. The camera pans to a chap dressed as leprechaun in the crowd. Athers slips into patronise-the-colony mode: "Maybe he's the Irish spy."

Kenya 9-0 (Oumah 2 Shah 4) Overs: 5
Nico watch
He has just emitted a feral, indecipherable cry that has shaken this reporter so he cannot recall any of the past few balls.

WICKET! Shah b Anderson 4
Having produced a neat inswinger, a new delivery for Anderson, the England keeps one low and straight, striking the wicket halfway up offstump.

Kenya 9-0 (Oumah 2 Shah 4) Overs: 4
Shah climbs over the top of the bounce and eases a delivery from Mahmood through square. Reasons for Irish fans, including this one, to celebrate that goal: a victory will keep their faint qualification hopes alive. Reasons not to celebrate it: Steve Staunton will escape the sack. Hmm . . . come on the Welsh!

Kenya 3-0 (Oumah 1 Shah 1) Overs: 3
Shah scores his first off Anderson, delivering another good over . . . hang on, casting an eye across TO's Nasa-like bank of television screens, one notices Stephen Ireland wheeling towards the Croke Park crowd in celebration of his goal against Wales in their Euro 2008 qualifier. Elsewhere, satellite technology reveals that Georgia have equalised against Scotland.

Nico watch
Bright start from our man, running up to the wicket after each of Anderson's deliveries, crying, "Like it, Jim. Good stuff, Jim" etc Such jumpiness might concern some fans but Nixon has allayed such fears in the past. "I have an exterior of hyperactivity and bubbliness - where on the inside I'm now a lot calmer," he once told a Guardian hack.

Kenya 2-0 (Oumah 1 Shah 0) Overs: 2
Saj Mahmood bowls his first over of the World Cup. A couple pitch short but he has pace, as you would expect, and concedes only one, from a no-ball.

Kenya 1-0 (Oumah 1 Shah 0) Overs: 1
Anderson opens with a ripper that pitches on middle and swings sharply away from the batsman. Vaughan responds by adding a third slip. Shah then nudges the final ball down legside and runs a single. TO has chosen to dedicate today's coverage to the new hero of the office, Paul 'Nico' Nixon. We will file regular updates on incorrigible wicket-keeper's stream-of-consciousness commentary from behind the stumps, plus an assortment of Nico facts, quotes and opinions of the England's finest sledger.

3.30pm
South Africa have taken Hayden's wicket. The Australia opener needed only 66 balls to hit his record ton. John Westerby has filed from the ground:

Having just reached the fastest World Cup hundred, Hayden cut a short, slower ball from Jacques Kallis to point. Presumably thinking that he had a chance of making a double-hundred, Hayden reacted as though he had been dismissed for nought. Brilliant innings, though, with his placement as notable as his power. He made the most of the small boundaries here, hitting 14 fours and four sixes, but most of his blows would have cleared much bigger boundaries.

3.20pm
Steve Tikolo, the Kenya captain, has explained his decision to bat. "It looks a good wicket and we'd like to use, put on a good score up front and defend it," he says. "It looks dryer than previous pitches. Hopefully our spinners can win it for us later."

3.15pm
England and Kenya are warming up in St Lucia. Play is due to start in 15 minutes, with each sides facing 43 overs. Three bowlers will be allowed a maximum of nine overs, and two eight overs. Kenya have won the toss and decided to bat. Saj Mahmood has replaced Liam Plunkett in the England team, Freddies is back in for Jamie Dalrymple. Michael Vaughan has just said he would have bowled had he won the toss.

3.10pm
Brilliant. Hayden has made the fastest century in World Cup history, surpassing his ton with fittingly breathtaking six.

2.50pm
Hayden hits another boundary to move to 85. If he reaches his century within ten balls, he will have made the fastest ton in World Cup history. John Westerby has filed again:

How South Africa needed that wicket. Adam Gilchrist has just steered Charl Langeveldt to backward point for 42, giving his side a fillip that was desperately required. At 100 for none in the 14th over, their one-paced attack was beginning to look woefully inadequate, but Langeveldt has given them hope. Still looks like being a long, hot 50 overs in the sun though.

2.35pm
Wicket! Charl Langeveldt has deceived Adam Gilchrist with a slower ball, which he edges to Herschelle Gibbs at silly point. The Australia opener made 42 from 39 balls. The fall of his wicket leaves the holders on 106-1 from 14.2 overs. England's Under-21 football team, incidentally, have drawn 3-3 with Italy at the first game at the rebuilt Wembley Stadium. David Bentley equalised in the first-half with a free-kick. Wayne Routledge and Matt Derbyshire then twice put England ahead only for Italy to fight back.

2.20pm
Now 52 not out, Matthew Hayden has just played the shot of the mach so far, sending decent full-length delivery to the mid-off boundary with cannon-ball ferocity. John Westerbay, The Times correspondent at the ground, has emailed:

This match has been so eagerly awaited that we've all been fearing an anti-climax. No such worries so far. Gilchrist and Hayden have begun in thrillingly aggressive fashion, bringing up their 50 stand in 4.5 overs! Hayden hit Shaun Pollock for successive sixes in the fifth over, one hauled from outside off stump over midwicket, the next driven dismissively over mid-on. Game on.

2.10pm
The England game has now been delayed to 3.30pm, with the match reduced to 43 overs an innings. Australia have raced to 77-0 from ten overs. Adam Gilchrist has hit 32 from 28 deliveries, while Matthew Hayden has reached 47 from only 33 balls. Our new OBO pop-up will include scores from that game until England's match start.

1.20pm
South Africa have won the toss and chosen to field against Australia. England's start has been delayed until 3pm GMT, with the match reduced to 46 overs an innings. That does not bother Kevin Pietersen, currently fielding Nasser Hussain's questions. "We can sit back and watch a good game on the tele," he smiles, before answering the inevitable query on Andrew Flintoff's mood - England's party man has been recalled to the side. "He's training like I've never seen him train before," KP grins.

12.55pm
The start of the game has been delayed by heavy rain at the Beausejour Stadium. It looks likely that we'll have either a reduced-overs contest or match that runs on until tomorrow's reserve day. Umpires Rudi Koertzen and Peter Parker are due to hold a pitch inspection as soon as the showers stop. The news will not trouble England. If the entire game is washed out, they will qualify for the last eight on superior run-rate to Kenya.

12.40pm
Welcome to Times Online's over-by-over coverage of England's final group game against Kenya. Michael Vaughan's side must win to qualify for the Super Eights. We'll also provide updates from Australia v South Africa, a match that could prove a thriller.