England top Super 8 group, keep Pakistan's semi-final hopes alive with New Zealand win

Daren Sammy Stadium, Gros Islet – England completed a perfect Super Eight campaign and threw Pakistan a late lifeline by hunting down New Zealand with four wickets and three deliveries to spare, sealing a breathless 159-run chase that lifted them to the summit of Group 2.

Set 160 after the Black Caps were restricted to 159 for seven, England wobbled badly at 58 for four and again at 117 for six in the 17th over, still 43 adrift. Will Jacks and Rehan Ahmed then detonated 22 off Glenn Phillips in the 18th and followed with 16 more against Mitchell Santner next over, flipping the contest on its head and guiding the defending champions home.

New Zealand’s innings had followed a similar stop-start pattern. Finn Allen’s 29, Tim Seifert’s 35 and Glenn Phillips’ 39 promised more, but England’s spin trio—Jacks, Adil Rashid and Rehan—each claimed two wickets to stall acceleration through the middle overs. A brief controversy arose when Seifert was initially adjudged out, only for replays to overturn the call, yet the reprieve ultimately proved academic.

Harry Brook attempted to anchor the reply, while Tom Banton and Sam Curran offered cameos, but regular strikes left England needing something special. Jacks and Rehan delivered precisely that, muscling 38 off the penultimate twelve balls to extinguish New Zealand’s hopes and keep Pakistan’s semi-final dream flickering.

England finish the group stage with three wins from three; New Zealand now await other results to learn their fate.