Fans splash in a pool to celebrate a boundary during the World Cup cricket Super Eights match between England and Sri Lanka in St. John's, Antigua, yesterday. - reuters

bridgetown, barbados (ap)

An ailing Cricket World Cup got the match it had been waiting for yesterday.

Sri Lanka edged England by two runs in a nail-biting finish to end a stretch of lopsided games and give the World Cup a boost that didn't look like coming.

After a thrilling seventh-wicket stand by Ravi Bopara and Paul Nixon had set up the chance of an unlikely victory in Antigua, England needed three runs off the last ball.

Dilhara Fernando ran up to bowl it and the ball stuck in his hand. When he tried again, it struck Bopara's off stump and Sri Lanka began celebrating.

"In the end, we held our nerves," Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene said.

"What strategy did we have for the last over? No strategy. I can't remember what I was thinking. Every loose ball could have gone for runs."

Pause for breath

The victory put the 1996 winner level on six points with defending champion Australia and New Zealand at the top of the Super Eights standings. England, with two, now look unlikely to make it to the semi-finals.

But the mere result hides the drama of a thrilling day's play at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground. The two-day break in the championship that follows will give the two sides chance to pause for breath.

The Super Eights matches continue Saturday with last-place Bangladesh facing South Africa, which is confident of joining the three co-leaders.

The round had been something of a flop, with leading contenders Australia and New Zealand easily winning their games. Yesterday's game turned out to be a thriller.

England had restricted favoured Sri Lanka to 235 all out off their full 50 overs, the final wicket going down off the last ball. Opener Upul Tharanga hit 62 and captain Mahela Jayawardene 56 but Sri Lanka slumped from 160 for two in the 35th over.

Broken by a fluke

With England openers Michael Vaughan and Ed Joyce both back in the changing room at 11-2, Sri Lanka was back in the game. But Ian Bell (47) and Kevin Pietersen (58) swung the game back in England's favour before their partnership was broken by a fluke.

At 101-2 in the 26th over, Pietersen struck a ball from spinner Sanath Jayasuriya back down the pitch. The bowler stretched his right hand to try and stop the ball and his fingertips deflected it on to the stumps behind him. Bell tried to ground his bat but it bounced off the turf the same instant the ball hit the stumps and the TV umpire ruled he was run out.

The dismissal triggered a trademark England collapse of four wickets for 32 runs in eight overs before Bopara and Nixon came together.

Although the run rate climbed to more than 12 an over, they produced some improvised strokes to give England a chance.

Facing one of the all time great spin bowlers, Muttiah Muralitharan, the left-handed Nixon audaciously produced two reverse sweeps to score six and four in the same over. He was eventually out for 42 going for another big hit off pacemen Lasith Malinga and skied a catch to Jayawardene.

That left England with 16 runs to get off seven balls, but Bopara hit the last ball of Malinga's over for four and it was down to 12 off the last over.

After Sajid Mahmood's single, Bopara flicked a ball from Fernando for four.

Two more runs off the next brought up his half century and two more singles made it three off one.

Fernando hit the stumps, however, and Sri Lanka, so close to beating South Africa in Guyana a week ago, had the victory.