England meet West Indies in now-or-never contest

An inconsistent England are expected to rejig their line-up with the hope of beating West Indies in their final World Cup Group B match today to keep alive their quarter-final prospects.

An inconsistent England are expected to rejig their line-up with the hope of beating West Indies in their final World Cup Group B match on Thursday to keep alive their quarter-final prospects.

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Out of form pace bowler James Anderson may have to pave way for Chris Tremlett, while Matt Prior is expected to drop down the batting order so that either Ravi Bopara or Ian Bell can partner captain Andrew Strauss at the top.

Having tied their match with India and gone down to Ireland and Bangladesh, a victory would keep England afloat even though Strauss and his men would move into the quarter-finals only if other Group B results also favour them.
Strauss and off-spinner Graeme Swann have recovered from a stomach bug to join the team that looked jaded in the tournament.

West Indies, on the other hand, will be banking on fit-again opener Chris Gayle and in-form all-rounder Kieron Pollard to provide the batting firepower that would take them through to the quarter-finals.

Captain Darren Sammy expects coach Ottis Gibson's experience of working with England to provide them the insider knowledge that would come handy in this contest.