Will Jacks sends defiant message after England limp through T20 World Cup group stage

England’s passage to the T20 World Cup Super 8s has been anything but serene, yet Will Jacks insists the squad’s belief has not wavered after a nerve-shredding 24-run win over Italy sealed their place in the next phase.

The defending champions staggered through a group that included only one other Test-playing nation, losing to the West Indies and labouring past Nepal and Scotland before Tuesday’s shoot-out with the tournament’s lowest-ranked side. Even after posting 202 for seven, England watched Italy’s eclectic line-up of teachers, factory workers and a pizza chef threaten a seismic upset, falling just short at 178 all out.

Jacks, whose unbeaten 53 from 22 balls dragged England from 105 for five, said the scare had welded the group together rather than fractured it. “It brings the group together and gives you confidence that you know you can win like that,” he argued. “Whether you expect to win like that or not, it doesn’t matter. Winning like that can only be good for you.”

The 25-year-old’s assault featured his first T20I fifty in 36 internationals, arriving at a moment when his own place in the top order has been under scrutiny. “To make a mark on the game is something I haven’t done enough of in my T20 career,” he admitted. “There have been a lot of games and many tours where I’ve not been living up to my own expectations. To have a match-winning contribution, I’m obviously proud of that.”

Italy’s chase was ignited by Ben Manenti’s 25-ball 60, including six sixes, after Jofra Archer had struck twice in the opening over. Jacks eventually removed Manenti, yet Grant Stewart kept the underdogs dreaming with two sixes apiece off Archer and Adil Rashid. When 30 were needed from the final two overs, Sam Curran’s death-bowling nous—so vital against Nepal—surfaced again, dismissing Stewart for 45 and finishing with three for 22. Jamie Overton then closed the door, claiming two wickets in the last over for figures of 4-1-18-3.

Jacks praised Italy’s fearlessness and urged England to absorb the lesson. “They played how we expected them to play and I think they were better than us for quite a lot of the game there,” he said. “As a bowler, I felt like I had to be completely on the mark or I was going to go out the ground. That’s something we can learn from them.”

Acknowledging the wider unease around the champions’ form, Jacks remained pragmatic: “We’ve got a lot of stuff we can get better at. We don’t want it to be that close and feel those nerves, but going forward it’s more experience and we can never have enough of that. We’ve done it the hard way, but the most important thing is we are on to the Super 8s.”

England now head to Sri Lanka, where they swept a three-match T20 series 3-0 earlier this month, hopeful that the island’s familiar conditions can coax their best cricket at the business end of the tournament. “You don’t want to win all four of these games incredibly easily and not be put under any pressure and then suddenly it all goes to dust when it matters,” Jacks warned. “We’ve still got time to peak.”