England wear hearts on sleeves

In a gesture to show that they know about life beyond cricket, England are using their shirt sleeves to draw attention to global hunger during the World Twenty20. The space was freed because of a sponsorship conflict and England's senior players were eager to use it for a humanitarian purpose that is too often overlooked.

They have been working with the United Nations' World Food Programme and will carry a logo saying "Cricket Against Hunger". England's coach, Andy Flower, said: "We as cricketers live very privileged lives and very occasionally we get opportunities to bring attention to more important issues. I'm very proud of the fact we have taken this opportunity to do something good." Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara has not then cornered the market in wordly wisdom.

West Indies captain Chris Gayle inspired West Indies to a nine-wicket victory over Ireland in a World Twenty20 warm-up at the Oval yesterday. Gayle struck seven sixes in an unbeaten 88 as the West Indians comfortably surpassed Ireland's 130 for 7. They got to their target with 24 balls to spare thanks to Gayle's explosive strokeplay.

They had made 77 for 1 by the halfway stage, of which Gayle contributed 50. Earlier, West Indies restricted Ireland to just over a run a ball. They particularly struggled against the pace of Fidel Edwards, who followed up his good recent form in the Indian Premier League with figures of 1 for 13.