England one step closer to the quarter-final after beating the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 in ICC World Cup, 2011
England have one foot in the quarter-finals of the ICC World Cup after a nail biting finish against the West Indies.
The match was played in Chennai's MA Chidambaram Stadium; the West Indies side practically threw the match away after their lower order seemed to self destruct.
After winning the toss England Captain Andrew Strauss elected to bat first. Strauss and wicket keeper Matt Prior got England off to a reasonably good start with a 48 run partnership before Prior was bowled by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Russell-c87177.
Jonathan Trott top scored for the English side with 47 runs as England’s middle order collapsed soon after Ian Bell was dismissed on the first ball of the 27th over. The West Indian bowlers were doing a good job at keeping the English run rate in check.
Wickets fell regularly for England as Devendra Bishoo and Andre Russell ripped through the opposition batting line up. Bishoo took three wickets in his ten overs, while Russell took four wickets in eight overs at an expensive economy rate of 6.12 runs per over.
Had it not been for Luke Wright’s 44 runs and Tim Bresnan’s unbeaten 20, England’s total would’ve been a lot bleaker. Managing 243 runs in 48.4 overs after the entire side was bowled out by the Windies; England knew they had a tough task of defending the total.
The West Indies’ batsmen got their side off to a good start with a 58 run opening partnership, thanks to Chris Gayle’s 43 runs from 27 deliveries, before he was out leg before to James Tredwell. The English bowler ended up with figures of 4 wickets for his 48 runs in the allotted 10 overs.
Windies Captain Darren Sammy helped his side with a knock of 41 runs, keeping the ship steady when Darren Bravo and Devon Thomas lost their wickets in quick succession. The middle order held strong with Andre Russell continuing his brilliant performance with the bat, with a hard hitting 49 run innings.
With the Caribbean side needing 22 runs in 9 overs, they looked well in control of the match, before a lower-order batting collapse saw a change in fortunes. When Russell was out leg before wicket and Swann followed five balls later, the batting side was suddenly under immense pressure. England felt the momentum swinging in their favor.
The last two wickets fell for just two runs as the Windies were bowled out for 225 runs in 44.4 overs. Tredwell won the Man of the Match award, with England retaining a shot at the quart-finals of the mega event.
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