England edge thriller against West Indies

Andrew Strauss' team looked sure to suffer a tournament-ending defeat while Andre Russell and Ramnaresh Sarwan were sharing a seventh-wicket stand of 72 in pursuit of 243 all out.

But James Tredwell (four for 48) and Graeme Swann (three for 36) were not done with, the former breaking the partnership and his fellow off-spinner in the wickets too as the Windies' last four fell for three runs.

England can therefore contemplate after all a flight to Delhi today for their last-eight holding camp, rather than the longer plane journey home following an early exit.

Shock victories for both the Windies and Bangladesh, in their final Group B matches, could still dash England's hopes - but the percentage call is now firmly with them entering the knockout stages.

The luck appeared to be deserting England in a tortuous campaign which has featured a series of impossibly tight finishes.

They withstood a barrage of big hitting from Chris Gayle, Darren Sammy and Kieron Pollard as the Windies rained sixes - only to run into Russell, with apparent good fortune on his side.

He counted his team's ninth and final six - England had earlier mustered just one - yet so nearly lost his wicket on 39, out of 204 for six, when Jonathan Trott fell backwards taking a fine 'catch' only for third umpire Simon Taufel to rule the fielder's wide-brimmed sun hat had by a whisker brushed against the boundary cover.

Strauss, though, always had faith in his never-say-die team to cling on to a lifeline.

"I still thought there was another twist in the tale," said the captain. "After Trott's 'catch', it was easy for heads to possibly drop at that stage.

"But the guys were remarkably buoyant all the way through. I think we really felt that something was going to happen - and thankfully, it did."

Tredwell, one of three England players called up for their first action of the tournament, finally got Russell lbw on the back foot one short of what would have been this match's only half-century.

Another marginal third-umpire decision went against England from the very next ball when Sulieman Benn survived with the original not-out call thanks to DRS simulation which showed only the very top of the bails being disturbed.

Yet Swann was to deliver perhaps the most telling blow when he had Sarwan caught at short-leg.Then Kemar Roach fell to a tumbling catch at mid-off by Chris Tremlett off Swann, and fittingly a superb throw from the fine-leg boundary ran out Benn as he attempted a two - to finish the match with more than five overs unused.

The West Indies can still qualify for the last eight themselves, if they beat India on Sunday. But for coach Ottis Gibson, yesterday was a case of so near yet so far.

"There was a time not so long ago in West Indies cricket where we would have fallen apart," he said. "England got a great start, but we hung in there and got wickets. It just needed somebody at the end there to see us through, and that didn't happen."

England had earlier posted a patchy total after winning the toss in this day-night fixture.

After Trott and Strauss got their team off to a flying start, the scoring rate stagnated as wickets began to fall - and it fell to competition debutant Luke Wright (44) to salvage a competitive total.

West Indies leg-spinner Davendra Bishoo (three for 34), on his international debut, and Russell (four for 49) shared seven wickets - while Roach put the brakes on with new and old-ball economy.

England appeared assured of a much bigger total after racing to 94 for two at the 15-over mark. But they lost momentum and then wickets - four for 30 at one stage - as the boundaries dried up. In the end, however, it transpired they had done just enough.

Meanwhile, England are tomorrow expected to confirm their request to the International Cricket Council for a replacement player, after a recurrence of Ajmal Shahzad's hamstring injury meant he must fly home from the World Cup.