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CHENNAI: England kept their World Cup campaign alive by beating blow-hot-blow-cold West Indies by 18 runs on Thursday.

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In a ding-dong battle, England first wasted a good batting start (79-1 in the 11th over). But after being 151-6, their last four wickets added 92 runs to take the tally to 243.

When West Indies made 58-0 in eight overs, it looked an uphill task for Strauss' men. But they stuck to it by removing the middle-order of West Indies in quick succession, especially Pollard. On a challenging track, Andre Russell and Ramnaresh Sarwan showed great resilience to take it from 150-6 to 222. But once they lost Russell, nerves played a part and the West Indies lost.

Spinners Graeme Swann and James Tredwell shared seven wickets between them on a helpful track and Ravi Bopara varied his pace to scalp two.

West Indies started the chase of 244 by throwing caution to the wind. They probably thought survival was difficult on this track. The strategy seemed to have worked when Chris Gayle hammered away, hitting pacemen Tremlett and Bresnan (1-0-18-0) out of the attack. Probably, it was a mistake in hindsight as it brought another spinner Tredwell (Swann opened from the other side) into the attack.

Tredwell had Gayle (43 off 21, 8x4s, 1x6) lbw; Prior made a brilliant stumping of the off-balanced Smith and skipper Strauss plucked Darren Bravo at first slip. All the three lefties fell to off-spinner (Dhoni please note: Peterson was leftie and Bhajji an off-spinner).

Sammy and Thomas then played on to the stumps against Bopara.

Pollard hit two typical sixes after playing out one maiden over. But classy offie Swann had him lbw to a turner. Russell was generally quiet but he also hit three sixes, the one being particularly contentious. Strauss appeared to have caught him at long-on off Swann, but unclear TV footage and the shadow of the boundary line ads seemed to have put a doubt in the TV umpire's mind. And he passed that advantage to the batsman.

But Tredwell got Russell lbw. Swann, in his last over, got Sarwan caught at short-leg and Roach caught by Tremlett, running in and diving in front at mid-off.

Earlier, at 121-2 in the 22nd over, with Jonathan Trott in sublime touch, England lost the momentum despite the lack of relentless pressure from the bowling attack.

Matt Prior was bowled through the gate by Andre Russell. But the bigger culprits were Andrew Strauss (top edged a difficult high catch to Chris Gayle, who ran back from mid-wicket) and Eion Morgan (edged a reverse sweep to the wicket-keeper).

James Tredwell couldn't have asked for better World Cup debut than this. England had their backs against the wall and a loss would have thrown them out. However, Tredwell delivered when it mattered the most. Every time Andrew Strauss threw the ball to him, he came up with a breakthrough. He was brought in when Chris Gayle was belting England's bowlers all over the park. He trapped the dangerous Gayle in front and then sent back Devon Smith and talented Darren Bravo. Later on, when the West Indies were cruising with the 7th wicket stand between Ramnaresh Sarwan and Andre Russell, he claimed Russell's wicket.

It seemed as if the game against England was going to be one dominated by Andre Russell. The pacer had picked up four wickets for 49 to bowl England out for 243 after Strauss had won the toss and chose to bat on a two-paced and dry pitch. After Pollard was dismissed for 24, England had West Indies down for the count at 150 for 6. The experienced Ramnaresh Sarwan needed someone to hang around and it was Russell who put his hand up. Tonking sixes, he scored an entertaining 49 and took West Indies to within 21 runs of a quarterfinal berth. His dismissal to Tredwell's off-spin started the collapse and the West Indies lost four wickets for three runs.

BANGALORE: The 7-wicket victory on Wednesday for defending champions Australia over Canada with as many as 15.1 overs to spare may have reinforced Ricky Ponting's views that associate nations do not belong in the World Cup. But Ponting would have to admit that his bowling worries are far from over.

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Not even the fact that openers Shane Watson and Brad Haddin set a new record for Australia as far as opening partnerships in the World Cup go, or that their unbeaten run in World Cups extended to 34 matches, would have helped there.

Canada may have eventually set Australia a modest 212 to get at the Chinnaswamy Stadium but it was not before the Australians were given quite a scare by 19-year-old Hiral Patel who starred as Canada raised the quickest first 50 runs (4.4 overs) in the 2011 World Cup. The pocket dynamo was finally out for a 45-ball 54 (5x4, 3x6), caught on the third man line while attempting a fourth six but in the course of his entertaining knock he showed up the Australian attack.

If Shaun Tait can't get you, neither will Brett Lee nor for that matter Mitchell Johnson, at least not initially. All three Australian pacers, termed time and again as a very potent and complementing combination by skipper Ricky Ponting, bowled upwards of 145kmph on Wednesday only for the small-made Patel to send each of the quick men to the cleaners.

For the second match in succession, against yet another unfancied team, the Australian attack was found wanting, lacking in direction and purpose. If Tait conceded 17 off his first two overs, Lee went for 32 from three and Johnson only slightly better with 20 off three. Patel simply relished the room he was provided by all three bowlers, cutting fiercely, upper cutting with disdain and driving with a fair bit of class. Neither the bowlers nor Ponting seemed to have a clue as to how to stop him even after Lee had sent back the other opener John Davison, in his last ODI innings, with a bouncer that took the glove. The same bouncer to Patel was hooked for six and had the batsman not uppercut Watson straight to Johnson on the edge of the fence, Australia could have been looking at a far bigger chase.

With the bat too, the start was a little unusual with both Watson (94, 90b, 9x4, 4x6) and Haddin (88, 84b, 11x4, 2x6) scratching around. It was the batting Powerplay, taken ahead of the bowling one which never came about, and the overs that followed that raised the tempo and brought a quick end to the proceedings. Canada have now finished their World Cup engagements while Australia travel to Sri Lanka.

The World Cup finally reached Eden Gardens, and the sparse crowd that turned up on an overcast day were treated to a JP Duminy special that lifted South Africa from the dumps, and set up a facile win. Ireland's effort began like a dream and ended like a nightmare as they showcased the inconsistency that holds back upwardly-mobile Associate teams. There was disciplined, if somewhat limited, bowling; there were breath-taking fielding efforts to go with grassed sitters; and there was the glaring inability to land the knockout punch, as they let things drift after hustling their opponents into a corner. Duminy was ready when they ran out of steam, and made them pay with a well-paced innings.

If Dale Steyn doesn't get you, Morne Morkel will, and Ireland found this out the hard way, chasing a tall score on a wicket with true bounce. Morkel removed the openers with his menacing lengths and the back-up bowlers, led by Robin Peterson, ensured there was no escape route for the middle order. Under lights, the game petered out into a mismatch, Ireland's first in a spirited World Cup campaign, and confirmed South Africa's entry into the quarters, while the jostling continues for the remaining spots from Group B.

The one-sided finish seemed unlikely when Ireland's trademark enthusiasm had reduced South Africa to 117 for 5 by the 27th over. Ireland's initial brilliance was epitomised by two outstanding efforts on the field - first, George Dockrell moved rapidly to his left from a widish third man, tumbled, yet held on to a fierce upper cut from Hashim Amla. Then, John Mooney caught a struggling Graeme Smith short with a fierce pick up and throw from midwicket. Smith's exit in the tenth over exposed South Africa's middle order and they continued to wobble as Jacques Kallis was run out for the second successive innings, and Faf du Plessis guided tamely into the slips. Ironically, AB de Villiers' replacement helped South Africa stem the rot that might have never set in if he had been playing. de Villiers' absence allowed Morne van Wyk to bat at No. 3 and Colin Ingram at No. 7, and both batsmen played crucial hands to propel South Africa.

By his own admission, van Wyk's batting is not "poetry in motion", and his cameo at No. 3 justified that evaluation. His loose on-the-up drives without much foot movement left him prone to edges and soft dismissals, and he was lucky to escape twice, with Kevin O'Brien and Paul Stirling spilling straightforward chances. The reprieves had no impact on van Wyk, who kept backing himself to clear the infield, until George Dockrell slipped a perceptive arm-ball past him in the 16th over. van Wyk had by then provided the early momentum, that allowed Duminy and Ingram the time to settle in before turning things around.

Duminy initially chose caution against Dockrell's attacking line outside off, one that spinners have used to torment in him the past. He kept deflecting and nudging, lapping and steering for ones and twos, and his inventiveness inevitably led to the Irish dropping their guard. Ingram cashed in when they delivered loose deliveries, targeting the square fields with a series of powerful horizontal-bat shots. Johnston castled him in the 40th over, but by then South Africa had wrested control.

In the meantime, Duminy had seamlessly shifted gears from nurdle to attack mode, and was on the verge of hitting overdrive. After 46 boundary-less balls, his first four came through the most audacious of reverse-sweeps. By the time he brought up his half-century, caressing Johnston into the covers, his strike-rate was nudging the 80s. Ingram's dismissal forced him to reassess the situation, and he chose to delay the Powerplay to the absolute end.

He had chugged along to 68 when the Powerplay came on by default in the 46th over. A couple of quiet overs from Mooney and Boyd Rankin suggested a whimpering finish. Duminy, however, lined up Trent Johnston for special treatment in the 49th over, dumping him for four and six over the leg side, before forcing another boundary to third man. With three balls to go, and 99 against his name, Duminy did not push the single. He instead looked for the straight six and perished in the outfield. In a sense, it was a fitting end to an innings that was all about shot selection and selflessness.

CHITTAGONG: Bangladesh cruised closer to World Cup quarterfinal qualification on Monday with a six-wicket victory over the Netherlands.

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Slow left armer Abdur Razzak took three wickets and opener Imrul Kayes stroked 73 not out to give Bangladesh its second victory in Chittagong in four days, keeping alive its chances of reaching the last eight.

Bangladesh will qualify if West Indies beat England on Thursday in Chennai. Otherwise, the entire population of 150 million will be cheering the team on when it plays South Africa in Dhaka on Saturday.

The Bangladesh team opened the World Cup with a loss to co-host India in Dhaka, then beat Ireland by 27 runs. Any encouragement gained from that was lost in a nine-wicket defeat to the West Indies, when Bangladesh was bowled out for just 58 runs.

On Monday, the innocuous Dutch bowling attack presented few challenges on a flat Chittagong wicket and Bangladesh passed the total in the 42nd over.

Imrul shared a 92-run second wicket partnership with Zunaed Siddique. His unbeaten 73 came off 113 balls that included six boundaries, and he was declared man-of-the-match.

Tamim Iqbal was bowled for a duck in the fourth ball of the innings as Mudassar Bukhari struck.

Zunaed scored 35 off 52 balls before he was caught by Pieter Seelaar off Peter Borren in the 21st over.

Coming in at four, Shahriar Nafees added 37 runs from 60 balls before he was bowled by Tom Cooper.

For Netherlands, only Ryan ten Doeschate, with 53 not out, managed a decent innings as the Dutch fell victim to four runouts, a stumping and slow spin.

Bangladesh made the first breakthrough in the 10th over after captain Shakib al-Hasan trapped Wesley Barresi lbw for 10.

No. 3 batsman Mudassar Bukhari (6) was the second man to go, caught by Mushfiqur Rahim off Abdur Razzak. He also trapped Tom de Grooth lbw for 4 and took Atse Buurman for a duck, caught by Imrul Kayes.

But ten Doeschate, the best Dutch batsman, came in at number five and was left stranded when Bangladesh tore through the tail. His 50 took 65 balls and included two fours and a six.

Abdur Razzak took 3-29 but Shafiul Islam was the pick of Bangladesh's bowlers even though he didn't take a wicket. He finished with figures of 0-15 from 9.2 overs, starving the Dutch of run-making chances.

Bangladesh made two changes from the team that had a two-wicket win over England, bringing in Sohrawardy Shuvo and Shahriar Nafees in place of Naeem Islam and Raqibul Hassan.