England edged past the West Indies by 18 runs in their final Group B match at the M A Chidambaram stadium in Chennai on Thursday to keep their hopes of a place in the knock-out stage of the World Cup alive. England's third win in the competition, which has seen them suffer embarrassing losses to minnows Ireland and Bangladesh, takes their points tally to seven. If South Africa beat Bangladesh on Saturday, as expected, Andrew Strauss's men will march into the last eight. Thursday's result was crucial in the sense that it has now thrown the ball in the opposition court Bangladesh's fate is in its own hands now.
England did what it had to do to survive an early exit. In what was a must-win game for the three-time finalists, England, after electing to bat, got off to a steady start, suffered a mid-innings slump before putting together 243, just about enough to make the match a competitive affair in spite of getting dismissed in 48.4 overs. Jonathan Trott top-scored with 47 and there were other useful contributions from Luke Wright (44) and captain Andrew Strauss (31).Andre Russell and debutant Devendra Bishoo were the pick of the Caribbean bowlers, with figures of four for 49 and three for 34 respectively.
Chasing 244 to win, the West Indies got off to a flier and always remained in the hunt before their tail failed to take them through. Russell top-scored with 49, while there were important contributions from Chris Gayle (43) and Darren Sammy (41).James Tredwell was the best bowler for England with impressive figures of four for 48 while Graeme Swann excelled with figures of three for 36.And the spinning duo helped England secure what they so desperately needed -- a much needed win.
England did what it had to do to survive an early exit. In what was a must-win game for the three-time finalists, England, after electing to bat, got off to a steady start, suffered a mid-innings slump before putting together 243, just about enough to make the match a competitive affair in spite of getting dismissed in 48.4 overs. Jonathan Trott top-scored with 47 and there were other useful contributions from Luke Wright (44) and captain Andrew Strauss (31).Andre Russell and debutant Devendra Bishoo were the pick of the Caribbean bowlers, with figures of four for 49 and three for 34 respectively.
Chasing 244 to win, the West Indies got off to a flier and always remained in the hunt before their tail failed to take them through. Russell top-scored with 49, while there were important contributions from Chris Gayle (43) and Darren Sammy (41).James Tredwell was the best bowler for England with impressive figures of four for 48 while Graeme Swann excelled with figures of three for 36.And the spinning duo helped England secure what they so desperately needed -- a much needed win.
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