Poised on the brink of an excellent maiden century in their first Cricket World Cup match against Australia, England batsman James Taylor suffered an agonising end to his innings

Steven Finn became the first England bowler to take a World Cup hat-trick with wickets off the final three balls of Australia's 342-9.

Moments from the first day match between Australia and England

While chasing Australia's gigantic total of 342 runs, England struggle to reach the 200-mark. Lower-order batsman James Taylor helms the English innings with his unbeaten 98 runs while his co-players keep returning to the pavilion. By sheer misfortune, he misses his maiden ODI century and England face a defeat of 111 runs

In a day of allround performance by the Kiwis, Lankans appear weaker both with their bats and the ball.

Live commentary of the maiden World Cup 2015 match between Sri Lanka and hosts New Zealand at Christchurch

For the first time in almost a quarter of a century, the cricket World Cup is back Down Under. For the traditionalists and newcomers alike, it is a long overdue return to one of the sport's spiritual homes.

The World Cup down under officially opened with a celebration of local culture, pop music and fireworks in Melbourne and Christchurch yesterday.

Four days before the ICC World Cup, cops are monitoring bookies' activities, but a majority of them have shifted to bases outside the city, sources said.

Indian opener Rohit Sharma smashed 150 against Afghanistan in their final World Cup warm-up match Tuesday, helping the holders register their first win in Australia since they landed in November.

Referring to the schoolteacher's death caused by brickbats hurled by pro-hartal activists in Noakhali on Monday.