By David Gavrilovic

England aim to go beyond the semi-finals in Islamabad

England's blind cricketers succeeded where their fully-sighted colleagues failed by beating Australia in their opening match of the Blind Cricket World Cup.

England claimed a five-wicket victory in a match reduced to 17 overs a side due to a soggy outfield.

Australia batted first, scoring a quick-fire 164-7 from their alloted overs, setting England a tough target in the damp conditions.

But a brilliant 52 from totally blind batsman Tim Guttridge, who was named man of the match, helped steer the side home with just one ball to spare.

Another totally blind batsman, Nathan Foy, also made a telling contribution with a rapid 32 before he was run out.

It was England's third consecutive win against the Aussies, after two previous victories in the summer of 2004 sealed a 3-2 win in the blind cricket Ashes.

Torrential rain had forced England's scheduled game against Sri Lanka on Monday to be re-arranged, while South Africa failed to arrive for their meeting on Tuesday.

England team: Nathan Foy, Tim Guttridge, Miles Northwood, David Townley, Matt Dean, Rory Field, Mark Pickup, Heindrich Swanepoel (Captain), Dan Field, Andy Powers, Luke Sugg.

England team to face Sri Lanka on Thursday: Tim Guttridge, Nathan Foy, David Townley, Heindrich Swanepoel (captain), Rory Field, Andy Powers, Luke Sugg, Dan Field, Sam Murray, Adam Benjamin, Miles Northwood or Hassan Khan (pending a fitness test for Northwood)

Remaining England group fixtures:
Thursday 7 December: England v Sri Lanka
Friday 8 December: England v India
Saturday 9 December: England v New Zealand
Sunday 10 December: England v West Indies
Monday 11 December: England v Pakistan