England suffered another Oval heartbreak against West Indies tonight when they slumped to a narrow defeat to miss out on an ICC World Twenty20 semi-final place.
Set a revised target of 80 in nine overs after showers delayed West Indies' reply, they reached their victory target with four balls to spare to record their first win over England since arriving here in May.
Their victory was achieved with Ramnaresh Sarwan driving Ryan Sidebottom through extra cover for four to complete a match-winning partnership of 37 from 20 balls with Shivnarine Chanderpaul just as England appeared to have gained the momentum.
England's hopes of reaching only their second semi-final since being beaten in the 1992 World Cup final - the Champions Trophy was their only other last-four qualification - had been lifted by their three seamers each claiming a wicket inside the first three overs.
Andre Fletcher was caught behind top-edging an attempted pull off James Anderson, Sidebottom struck in the second over to bowl Chris Gayle with a full-length delivery and Stuart Broad struck with the first ball of the next over with Lendl Simmons being caught at third man.
Spinners Graeme Swann and Adil Rashid, surprisingly preferred to all-rounder Dimitri Mascarenhas, also claimed a wicket apiece to leave West Indies needing 29 off the final three overs to knock England out of the tournament and march on into the semi-finals.
But the know-how of West Indies' two most experienced batsmen was crucial, with Sarwan hitting two fours from Anderson's next over and Broad was similarly treated in the penultimate over to leave them needing only three from Sidebottom's final over.
Once again England's lack of firepower in the middle order had undermined their innings when they won the toss and reached 161 for six despite again struggling to hit boundaries.
Yesterday, England scored only four boundaries in the final six overs in their victory over India at Lord's, which set up today's shoot-out for a semi-final berth.
When Kevin Pietersen departed in the eighth over, fours and sixes were at a premium and Owais Shah's wristy flick for six off Jerome Taylor at the start of the 11th over was the only boundary recorded until the final two balls of the innings - a gap of 50 deliveries.
Broad ensured England registered a superior total to that of 24 hours earlier by hauling the penultimate ball of the innings through the leg-side for four and then following up by lofting a straight six off giant spinner Sulieman Benn.
Star batsman Pietersen was called to the crease in the second over after opener Luke Wright launched Kieron Pollard high in the air and was caught by wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin, who sprinted all the way to mid-wicket.
Pietersen signalled his arrival by pulling his first ball for four and followed it with a lap to fine leg off the next delivery and he hit two more boundaries when seamer Taylor was introduced in the fifth over.
West Indies captain Gayle attempted to disrupt the rhythm with numerous bowling changes, with half a dozen bowlers being employed in the first half of the innings.
One of the changes coincided with a breakthrough as Pietersen, whose exquisite timing and placement suggested he was on course for only his third Twenty20 international half-century, top-edged a sweep to deep square-leg off Simmons' medium pace for 31.
Even with Pietersen back on the bench, England should have recorded a far bigger total, with opener Ravi Bopara showing his increasing aptitude for this format with his first Twenty20 international half-century.
Bopara hammered 55 off 47 balls to lay the platform for a late assault but once again the hosts struggled to build on a promising start, although they were not helped when the first of the showers halted play in the 17th over with England on 129 for four.
Their inability to find boundaries once again proved costly, however, and, until Broad's late assault from the final few deliveries, England threatened a far more modest target.
By the time the rain had ceased to allow West Indies' abridged reply, it soon became clear it was a weakness that would end England's interest in the tournament and allow Gayle's unpredictable side to move a step closer to a remarkable World Cup triumph.
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