England wait on seamer

Digest:England remain hopeful key seamer James Anderson can remain part of their selection plans for today's World Cup opener with New Zealand. The 24-year-old Lancashire bowler suffered a broken right little finger during catching practice on Wednesday to put his participation in the tournament in doubt.

But after sending the X-rays back to England for analysis, England remain hopeful Anderson will be able to play on.

Anderson bowled just a couple of tentative overs in practice yesterday. He also fielded for around 10 minutes but did not throw in with his right arm with any conviction and faced a few throwdowns in his pads to test the injury.

If Anderson fails to convince England's management he is ready to face New Zealand, Jon Lewis is likely to be the beneficiary to claim his place in the attack alongside fellow seamers Andrew Flintoff and Liam Plunkett.

New Zealand will field at least one player with a broken finger against England. All-rounder Jacob Oram will take part with a micro-light splint on his hand, while Peter Fulton is also in the selection shake-up.

Ntini to sit out opener

South Africa will go into their opener against the Netherlands in Basseterre today without fast bowler Makhaya Ntini and left-arm spinner Robin Peterson.

Ntini arrived in St Kitts on Wednesday after missing the South African squad's departure for the Caribbean to remain at home with his wife for the birth of their second child.

Peterson's omission for tactical reasons means South Africa will depend on Graeme Smith's part-time off-spin for their slow bowling.

Sri Lanka run riot

Sri Lanka pulled off the second biggest victory margin in World Cup history after crushing debutants Bermuda by 243 runs in their Group B match.

Paceman Farveez Maharoof grabbed four wickets after the unorthodox Lasith Malinga's triple strikes to dismiss the associate country for 78 in 24.4 overs in reply to their 321 for six.

Australia hold the record for the biggest victory margin following their 256-run victory over Namibia in the 2003 World Cup.

Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene top-scored with 85 after he was dropped on nought and 52, sharing in a 150-run third wicket partnership with Kumar Sangakkara (76). Chamara Silva made 55 not out from 45 balls in the end.

Sri Lanka next face Bangladesh on March 21 in the group also featuring India.