Will Jacks’ second-half innings score once again proved crucial as England secured a Super 8 spot in the T20 World Cup with a nervous 24-run win over debutants Italy in Kolkata.
Jacks (53 not out from 22 balls) completed his maiden T20I fifty for a six in the last over of England’s knock as his side posted 202-7 after being reduced to 107-5 in the 13th over at Eden Gardens.
The Surrey all-rounder hit 18 at the end in England’s opener’s four-run win over Nepal, and the team was once again indebted to him as three of their top five batsmen – Barjos Buttler (3) and Harry Brook (14) – fell in the 20s and 30s.
The Jacks (1-34) ended a savage fourth-wicket stand of 92 off 48 balls between Ben Manenti (60 off 25) and Justin Mosca (46 off 34). Manenti struck twice in the first over after Jofra Archer (2-35) struck twice and Buttler took a fine leaping catch in the fourth over as the semi-finals rallied from 22-3 down.
Italy, who followed their defeat by Scotland with a 10-wicket thrashing of Nepal, were dismissed for 178 and were only able to avoid the shock with the wickets of Adil Rashid (1-43), Sam Curran (3-22) and Jamie Overton (3-18).
Italy’s victory looked achievable with 89 runs in 8 overs and again Rashid scored 21 runs in the over with 30 runs off 12 balls, but Curran managed just 5 runs in his second over. After doing so against Nepal, he once again impressed at the death, but Overton got the job done with two strikes in the last over.
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England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler dismissed Italy’s Harry Manenti with an acrobatic catch.
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Watch how Jofra Archer removed Italy’s JJ Smuts and Anthony Mosca for a duck in Kolkata.
England’s third win in four means they have advanced, albeit nervously, to the second round, where they will likely face either Pakistan, New Zealand, Zimbabwe or Sri Lanka via Colombo and Kandy.
Italy and Scotland can now make no further progress. Unbeaten West Indies have already qualified for the first qualifier from Group C and will now face India, South Africa and one other team from the Super 8.
England advance – but massive improvement is needed
England are yet to achieve their best performance in this tournament, with wins over Nepal and Scotland and some shaky moments with a timid defeat against the West Indies in between.
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Harry Brook hit four and a six before losing his wicket in the crunch draw against Italy in the T20 World Cup!
One area that definitely needs to be worked on is getting players to use their bats louder after they are batted.
Phil Salt (28 off 15), Jacob Bethell (23 off 20) and Tom Banton (23 off 21) were all caught while taking cross-batting swipes, while skipper Brook taunted former South African spinner JJ Smuts after he had broken four and a six off the previous two balls.
Butler’s skills are also a concern. The opener has been reduced to mid-third innings for two consecutive games and has not made it past 39 in nine innings so far this year, which consists of the World Cup and pre-tournament tour of Sri Lanka.
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Jos Buttler’s miserable T20 World Cup continues as Italy captain Harry Manenti takes a catch.
The Jacks had Ben Manenti’s 16th over for 20 before his Surrey team-mate Curran (25 off 19) went to cover in the 17th over after slashing Crishan Kaugamage for a pair of maximums.
Overton (15 off 9) also contributed, but the Jacks took the lead, hitting Grant Stewart’s final six and England 95 runs off the final seven overs.
The game looked complete within four chase overs, with Archer costing Anthony Mosca and Smuts ducks in the first, an acrobatic catch from Buttler and the dismissal of Harry Manenti (12) off Overton’s scoop in the fourth.
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Sky Sports’ Nasser Hussain rings the bell at Eden Gardens ahead of England’s match against Italy.
But Justin Mosca (43 off 34) and Ben Manenti gave England a huge amount of anxiety, while Stewart (45 off 23) hit three sixes off Rashid in the 18th over to keep Italy’s faith.
Although these efforts ultimately ended in vain, the Azzurri can be proud of their achievement. England, meanwhile, know they need to improve if they are to have any chance of winning the T20 World Cup for the third time, following the Caribbean in 2010 and Australia in 2022.
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