I wish it wasn’t so close all the time – Strauss

There seemed no way back for England during Andre Russell and Ramnaresh Sarwan’s seventh-wicket stand of 72 as the West Indies closed on a vulnerable 243 all out under lights at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

Defeat would have signalled yet another early exit for England from a competition they have never won in 36 years of trying.

But James Tredwell (4-48) and Graeme Swann (3-36) had other ideas as the West Indies’ last four wickets fell for three runs and England got home after all by 18 runs.

Even Jonathan Trott’s misfortune, narrowly clipping the boundary cover with the brim of his sunhat as he fell taking an outfield catch and therefore conceding another six to Russell on 39, did not demoralise Strauss’s team.

“I still thought there was another twist in the tale,” said the captain.

“After Trott’s ‘catch’, it was easy for heads to possibly drop at that stage.

“But the guys were remarkably buoyant all the way through. I think we really felt that something was going to happen – and thankfully, it did.”

England have made a habit of close-run matches over the past two weeks but have prevailed in three and are therefore highly likely to progress to the quarter-finals as long as other Group B matches do not go conspicuously against them this weekend.

Strauss has had to dig into his reserves of man-management, as well as tactical awareness on the field, to keep his team on track during bouts of illness and poor form from key players.

“It’s been a tough few days, trying to get myself and the rest of the lads up after the Bangladesh defeat (last Friday) – which hurt us pretty hard – then falling ill myself and having to make some tough calls selection-wise.

“But I was buoyed by the thought we had one more opportunity to show what we could actually do in this World Cup.

“None of us wanted to go home (this morning), and we were very motivated to not let that happen.”

There was no respite on the pitch either.

“It was another very tough game to play in,” Strauss added. “It was a much better wicket than the game against South Africa (at the same venue), and we were probably 20 or 30 (runs) light.

“There was a lot of responsibility on the bowlers to pull us over the line.

“Clearly we were desperate to win and weren’t going to leave anything behind.

“But we needed guys to take early wickets – Tredders did an outstanding job, getting (Chris) Gayle out in particular.

“But more than anything, I think it was the togetherness that got us through.

“We’ve been through some pretty tough times together this winter as a group – and we didn’t want to be leaving this World Cup at this stage.

“I wish it wasn’t as close as it was, but we’re delighted to have won the game.”

Trott’s misfortune on the long-on boundary appeared to be a killer blow, but England accepted the marginal third-umpire call and just kept trying.

“Trotty said he didn’t feel anything, but obviously they thought there was a reason to give it as a six,” said Strauss.

“We all took it on the chin, and I thought the guys dealt with it really well.

“We just thought he must have touched the boundary line.”

The West Indies can still qualify for the last eight themselves, if they beat India on Sunday.

But for coach Ottis Gibson, yesterday was a case of so near yet so far. “There was a time not so long ago in West Indies cricket where we would have fallen apart,” he said.

“England got a great start, but we hung in there and got wickets.

“It just needed somebody at the end there to see us through, and that didn’t happen.”

Swann conceded that he thought England had possibly gone to the well on one occasion too many. “I thought we’ve had that many close games that it was just not going to happen,” Swann said.

“I did honestly (think England would lose). I thought ‘It’s one of those nights’. We have dug ourselves a hole and we are slowly stepping out of it. It was up there with Ashes for raw emotion.”

Swann praised the performance of his spin partner Tredwell, who was handed man-of-the-match honours in his first appearance at the tournament.

“Tredders has come in and done my job for me,” he added.

England are today expected to confirm their request to the International Cricket Council for a replacement player, after a recurrence of Yorkshire bowler Ajmal Shahzad’s hamstring injury meant he must fly home from the World Cup.