England know they must wait at least one more day to be sure of a World Cup quarter-final place - and must also improve dramatically to progress any further anyway.
Captain Andrew Strauss was understandably relieved last night when another thrilling match just went England's way, after West Indies had seemed certain to win at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
Instead, thanks largely to James Tredwell (four for 48) on his competition debut, England defended 243 by 18 runs as the Windies' last four wickets went down for the addition of only three.
As long as both Bangladesh, against South Africa tomorrow, and West Indies, against India on Sunday, do not both win their final Group B matches England will be in the last eight after all.
Strauss is mindful of that, and his team's vulnerabilities, after a highly eventful and nervy campaign so far.
"We've obviously got to rely on other results going our way," he said.
"If we do progress in this tournament, we've got to be a lot better than we have been. We're not going to hide from that.
"But it's one of those situations where you've got to be in it to win it.
"All we could do was win the game. We were very disappointed to have to be in that position.
"I'm just proud of the guys who stood up and performed in a high-pressure environment."
Strauss was especially pleased with man-of-the-match Tredwell and Luke Wright - who made a crucial 44 from number seven - as both answered the call in their first match of the tournament.
"It's so tough when you're sitting on the outside looking on all the time, waiting for your turn - and a lot of the time you probably think your turn isn't going to come," said the captain.
"To bring Wright and Tredwell in for a massive game was a bit of a gamble. But I felt Wright played exceptionally well when wickets were falling around him, and 'Tredders' was outstanding.
"It was a bit of a risk, because the guys hadn't played. But they stood up and delivered when it really counted."
Tredwell - playing only his third one-day international - came into a team much-changed because of illness, injury and poor form.
He said: "It's not easy sitting on the sidelines.
"But I just tried to attack it like any other game, concentrated on my own skills and then stayed calm so that I could produce them."
West Indies coach Ottis Gibson must try to galvanise his team again to salvage a last-eight place by beating favourites India.
In the meantime, he does not mind voicing his admiration for battle-hardened England and identifying them as a team who could yet win this competition.
"If they get through, of course they can go all the way," he said.
"England have been a resilient side for a long time. They're scrappers. They don't always play their best game, but somebody stands up.
"They've got the sort of resilience that we're looking for."
Meanwhile, England were today 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.
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Captain Andrew Strauss was understandably relieved last night when another thrilling match just went England's way, after West Indies had seemed certain to win at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
Instead, thanks largely to James Tredwell (four for 48) on his competition debut, England defended 243 by 18 runs as the Windies' last four wickets went down for the addition of only three.
As long as both Bangladesh, against South Africa tomorrow, and West Indies, against India on Sunday, do not both win their final Group B matches England will be in the last eight after all.
Strauss is mindful of that, and his team's vulnerabilities, after a highly eventful and nervy campaign so far.
"We've obviously got to rely on other results going our way," he said.
"If we do progress in this tournament, we've got to be a lot better than we have been. We're not going to hide from that.
"But it's one of those situations where you've got to be in it to win it.
"All we could do was win the game. We were very disappointed to have to be in that position.
"I'm just proud of the guys who stood up and performed in a high-pressure environment."
Strauss was especially pleased with man-of-the-match Tredwell and Luke Wright - who made a crucial 44 from number seven - as both answered the call in their first match of the tournament.
"It's so tough when you're sitting on the outside looking on all the time, waiting for your turn - and a lot of the time you probably think your turn isn't going to come," said the captain.
"To bring Wright and Tredwell in for a massive game was a bit of a gamble. But I felt Wright played exceptionally well when wickets were falling around him, and 'Tredders' was outstanding.
"It was a bit of a risk, because the guys hadn't played. But they stood up and delivered when it really counted."
Tredwell - playing only his third one-day international - came into a team much-changed because of illness, injury and poor form.
He said: "It's not easy sitting on the sidelines.
"But I just tried to attack it like any other game, concentrated on my own skills and then stayed calm so that I could produce them."
West Indies coach Ottis Gibson must try to galvanise his team again to salvage a last-eight place by beating favourites India.
In the meantime, he does not mind voicing his admiration for battle-hardened England and identifying them as a team who could yet win this competition.
"If they get through, of course they can go all the way," he said.
"England have been a resilient side for a long time. They're scrappers. They don't always play their best game, but somebody stands up.
"They've got the sort of resilience that we're looking for."
Meanwhile, England were today 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.
Read More
http://www.sportinglife.com/cricket/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=cricket/11/03/18/CRICKET_England_Strauss.html&BID=615
