So England's up-down-up-down sequence was duly maintained, but only after a Caribbean collapse of farcical proportions. This came after England had compiled a moderate but defendable total of 243 all out, which contained the usual compliment of batting dramas. Strauss and Prior struggled against the pace of Kemal Roach, Jonathan Trott top-scored again, debutant Guyanese leg-spinner Dev Bishoo proved he is more than just a mistaken typo with an economical spell and three big wickets, while Luke Wright announced his return to the England side with a 44 which dragged his side back into the match following failures by Morgan and Bopara.
It all looked grim for England, not only for this match but also their continued participation in the World Cup, when Chris Gayle began his assault on Tim Bresnan. Indeed, the Windies' six-count climbed impressively throughout the innings. In addition to the laconic opener, there were some massive blows struck by skipper Sammy, Pollard (of course) and Andre Russell, but as in the English innings, nobody lasted long enough to reach 50. Nevertheless, with 22 needed from almost nine overs and the wise head of Ramnesh Sarwan at the crease, surely the West Indies were cruising to victory. The side must still be holding their heads in dismay at the memory of how the batsmen pressed the 'self-destruct' button against spinners Swann and Tredwell and, finally, by attempting a suicidal second run to Trott. And so the final four wickets fell for three runs in three overs.
So what does this mean for the Group of Death? Well, England are almost certainly safe. It would require Bangladesh beating South Africa and West Indies narrowly beating or tieing with India for them not to progress to the quarter-finals. That's an improbable combination of results but given what we have seen so far, by no means an impossibility. The most likely scenario is that India and South Africa lead the final standings as the rankings suggested, followed sheepishly by England and the West Indies.
The pre-tournament seedings could also prove correct in Group A, so that England meet Sri Lanka in the knockouts and the Windies come up against Australia, the only unbeaten side in the competition. It really is open, and I reckon only New Zealand, Bangladesh and West Indies have very little chance of success, if only because they don't have the strength in depth of the others. Don't write off England! Teams have struggled early on and gone on to win the World Cup, and nobody can say England have had an easy ride, making them battle-hardened in preparation for the big guns they have to face from now on in. If they prove instead to be battle-fatigued - and Strauss and co have been trotting out that excuse enough times already - then they will falter at the next hurdle. However, having dealt with South Africa, West Indies and very nearly India, England should have the confidence to conquer any of the leading nations and claim the crown that has so far eluded them.
