Cricket: Zimbabwe provide reminder of possible banana skin

As timely reminders go, the one New Zealand received yesterday was hard to top.

What's more, they weren't even part of a game which should have sharpened their minds ahead of the start of the world T20 championship in the Caribbean.

While New Zealand were seeing off Ireland in the first of their two warmup games in Guyana by 40 runs, over in St Lucia, Zimbabwe were toppling one of the tournament favourites, Australia.

And Zimbabwe meet New Zealand in the final group B game in Guyana on May 5, having both previously played last year's beaten finalists Sri Lanka.

It is conceivable that last game will decide which two teams from the group progress to the Super Eight playoffs.

New Zealand and Zimbabwe have never met in T20. Although teams will rightly be wary of getting too wound up about what happens in practice games, Dan Vettori's men will have taken note.

Having hit 173 for seven - chiefly through Elton Chigumbura's 76 off just 35 balls - Zimbabwe held Australia to 172 for seven, with captain Michael Clarke and Mitchell Johnson both out in the final over.

Four Australian wickets fell in the last nine balls of the match.

And Australia have lost veteran speedster Brett Lee, out of the tournament with an arm injury.

This was not the first time Zimbabwe have got up with a late rails run to sneak past Australia. At Cape Town three years ago in the inaugural T20 championship, Zimbabwe won by five wickets with one ball to spare.

New Zealand reached 187 for five against Ireland in a game in which both teams used 12 players.

Openers Jesse Ryder and Rob Nicol put on 104 in 9.2 overs, Ryder hitting 64 off 30 balls, while Martin Guptill made 50.

Offspinner Nathan McCullum, opening the bowling, took three for 25 as Ireland made 147 for nine.

The use of McCullum pointed to the slow nature of the Providence Stadium pitch, and might yet be reprised in the group games against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe on the same ground.

New Zealand's second and final warmup game is against hosts the West Indies, also in Guyana, this morning.