England in must-win tussle with Windies
Chennai: England's injury-plagued squad desperately needs an encore of its World Tweny20 performance to have any chance of progressing at the World Cup. Already without Kevin Pietersen and Stuart Broad, ruled out with injuries, England needs captain Andrew Strauss and spinner Graeme Swann to recover quickly from stomach upsets ahead of its must-win Group B match against West Indies. A loss would means a first-round exit for England.
Top-order batsman Jonathon Trott said England needed to start a winning streak like it did in the T20, when it was similarly placed after the league stage but came back to win the tournament. 'It is four knockout games for us and three for others,' Trott said, outlining what England now requires to win its first major title in the traditional one-day format.
England has five points from five games, while the West Indies is well placed with six from four and another match against India to go. It's only loss so far has been to South Africa. For England, it has been a topsy-turvy run during a season in which it won the Ashes but lost 1-6 in a subsequent limited-overs international series to Australia.
England tied a high-scoring World Cup game with favorite India at Bangalore, pulled off a sensational six-run victory in a low-scoring game against South Africa at Chennai but had shock losses to Ireland and Bangladesh. Trott, who had scored a slow 67 in the two-wicket loss to Bangladesh at Chittagong last week, said the team was hopping Strauss and Swann would be fit for the match against the West Indies. 'They are feeling a little bit better. They should be ready for the game.'
West Indies skipper Darren Sammy said he was happy with how his squad has rallied after an early loss to South Africa at New Delhi. 'We look like a team now, we're moving forward, we're progressing and that augurs well for us," Sammy said after a 44-run victory over Ireland at Mohali last week. 'Three wins out of four games is a good position for us to be in with two games to play.'
But Sammy said the team had to keep its focus. 'Like I've always said day in and day out, we have England next and we're going to focus on England and plan, and hopefully execute,' he said. 'Another win will definitely seal our place in the quarterfinals, so we are definitely looking forward to that game.'
News Posted: 17 March, 2011
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