WC Cricket Sri Lanka V England

Sri Lanka were on the right side of a thriller, scraping a two run win against England. The result makes England's qualification for the semis quite tricky.

What happened in Sri Lanka v England match: Well, a game with more twists and turns than the TV series Lost. Sri Lanka threatened a big total, got strangled a bit during their innings and posted a very average 235. England got off to a poor start and then KP took over, putting them in a strong position. Then that English speciality took place, a collapse from 126/3 to 133/6, with all the big names out. All seemed to be over, but a partnership between two unheralded players, Nixon and Bopara, took England almost over the line. In the end, Dilhara Fernando, a player with a reputation as a choker, bowled Bopara off fhe last ball to give Sri Lanka a two run win and break English hearts one more time.Sorry I forgot to add that game was on 4th April.

What does this mean?: It was the game that the tournament needed, but not the result. Pundits are already pencilling in the names of Australia, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and South Africa as the semi-finalists, and while nothing is decided mathematically or otherwise, this matches result does increase the probability that there will be some dead games at the end of the Super 8s. England's position is not as dire as the bottom three sides in the log, especially with their net run rate being relatively solid, but they will have to beat Australia on Sunday to keep their qualification in their own hands.