Despite shuffling around their resources to make two changes to their line-up, England once again struggled to polish off lesser-known opposition in their final Group C match.

Unable to dismiss lowly Canada last Sunday, who progressed to 228 for seven, this time Kenya were finally dismissed for 177 having slumped to 112 for six after deciding to bat first in a match reduced to 43 overs a side following heavy morning rain.

All-rounder Andrew Flintoff, stripped of the vice-captaincy and dropped last Sunday for his role in last weekend's drinking episode, was returned to the attack while Sajid Mahmood was handed his World Cup debut.

Flintoff returned to replace off-spinning all-rounder Jamie Dalrymple, who had struggled in the opening two games of the tournament, while Liam Plunkett was replaced by Mahmood.

It was one of England's ever-presents, however, who made early inroads into the Kenyan line-up after captain Steve Tikolo won the toss and bucked the trend of the tournament and decided to bat first.

Anderson struck in the fifth over to knock back opener Ravi Shah's off-stump and followed up with an inswinger five overs later which tempted Maurice Ouma to chip straight to mid-on.

With fellow Lancashire seamer Sajid Mahmood striking to remove Tony Suji seven overs later, who clipped straight to short extra, Kenya had slipped to 73 for three shortly after the end of the reduced power plays.

Had it not been for experienced captain Tikolo, who became the mainstay of their innings, Kenya's challenge would have capitulated much quicker.

Tikolo, who also played in the 1999 and 2003 tournaments, got off the mark in impressive style by cutting Anderson for four through point and then claiming another boundary two balls later with a late cut down to third man.

He hit seven boundaries in all to reach a determined half-century off 58 balls, only to be given a reprieve after reaching 52 when he chipped Flintoff to mid-on where Ed Joyce missed the catch.

While Tikolo remained solid at one end, however, his team-mates fell at regular intervals from the other with Tanmay Mishra falling two overs after Suji when he was bowled attempting a late cut facing Paul Collingwood.

Collins Odoyo also perished to a mix-up for a quick single with Tikolo, which resulted in him failing to recover his ground at the non-striker's end after he had called for a run.

Flintoff marked his return by earning an lbw against Thomas Odoyo to leave Kenya reeling on 112 for six, only for England once again to struggle in their efforts to finish off the innings.

Just as they had struggled to dismiss Canada on Sunday, England's attack again failed to find a ruthlessness evident among the leading sides and allowed Kenya to recover.

Jimmy Kamande helped Tikolo add a useful 38 before becoming Collingwood's second victim, but it was not until just two overs before the end of the innings that the Kenyan captain's resistance was finally broken.

Tikolo had battled to a superb 76 off 92 balls, including eight boundaries, when Flintoff finally broke through with an inswinging yorker which smashed onto the stumps.

Even then Kenya's last wicket pair added seven more runs in the remaining overs until Paul Nixon ended their challenge off the penultimate ball by running out Lameck Onyango.

The teams:

England: Ed Joyce, Michael Vaughan (captain), Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Ravi Bopara, Paul Nixon (wk), Jimmy Anderson, Sajid Mahmood, Monty Panesar.

Kenya: Maurice Ouma (wk), Ravi Shah, Tony Suji, Steve Tikolo (captain), Tamanay Mishra, Collins Obuya, Thomas Odoyo, Jimmy Kamande, Lameck Onyango, Peter Ongondo, Hiren Varaiya.