Sport

GROS ISLET, St Lucia (CMC):

For different reasons, the first men's semi-final of the Twenty20 World Cup today at the Beausejour Cricket Ground is special for England and Sri Lanka.

England have never won a World Cup under any format and they will be hungry to reach the final on Sunday at Bridgetown to hunt their first.

Sri Lanka, on the other, have lifted a World Cup previously, but they were the runners-up in last year's T20 World Cup in England and in the one-day international World Cup staged in the Caribbean three years ago when Australia pummelled them for a third straight title also at Kensington Oval.

England reached the semi-finals following a three-wicket victory over New Zealand on Monday, which put them at the top of their Super Eight group.

Weather-affected match

Paul Collingwood's side has played confidently and the only blip on their copybook came in a badly weather-affected match against hosts West Indies, in which they looked set to also win.

"The guys are ready; they are excited," Collingwood on the eve of the match. "If there was a feeling around the camp that the guys are nervous or anything like that, then maybe something would have to be said.

"But the guys are so focused on the jobs they've got to do, roles they've got to play. We'll have a team meeting, but let me tell you, I'm not going to come out with any rip-roaring speech."

Sri Lanka overcame fellow Asian side India by five wickets when Chamara Kapugedera lashed a last-ball six on Tuesday to scrape into the semi-finals.

Door opener

Their chances had appeared slim following an 81-run defeat to Australia in their previous Super Eight match, but their victory over Mahendra Singh Dhoni's side, and West Indies' capitulation to the Aussies in the final Super Eight match opened the door for Kumar Sangakkara and his men.

"We put ourselves in a hole after the Australian game," said Sangakkara. "Even if we had lost, and maintained a good run-rate, we would still have loved to win.

"We had different options in play. After that game it was just about going out and try to win a game."

He said: "It's been good for Sri Lanka, we've managed to do well and hold our own in big tournaments. Hopefully, in our game against England, we can maybe convert that into another win and another final."