T20 World Cup 2026: Will Jacks Helps England Beat Italy by 24 Runs to Qualify for Super Eights

England secured their place in the T20 World Cup 2026 Super Eights with a nervy 24-run win over Italy in the 29th Group C day-night match at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on February 16, 2026, but Harry Brook’s side will know they need to be considerably better if they are to become the first team to win the men’s T20 World Cup three times.

Will Jacks, batting at No. 7 for the second time in four matches, rescued England from 105 for 5 with an innings of 53 not out off 22 balls — the fastest half-century by an England player at a T20 World Cup — to help England thrash 78 runs off the final five overs and post 202 for 7.

Italy, however, made them sweat the entire way. Ben Manenti and Justin Mosca added 92 for the fourth wicket to haul Italy back from 22 for 3, and Grant Stewart’s late assault — including consecutive sixes in a 21-run Adil Rashid over — took the match deep. Italy were eventually bowled out for 178 in the 20th over, with Jamie Overton striking twice in the final over and Sam Curran removing Stewart to end the contest. Curran finished with 3 for 22 and Overton with 3 for 18.

Match Summary

England won the toss — Brook’s fourth successive toss win in the tournament — and elected to bat. The top order misfired once again: Buttler and Salt both fell cheaply, Bethell laboured for an uncharacteristic 23 off 20, and Brook was out edging behind. England stumbled to 105 for 5 after 14 overs, with Italy’s spinners bowling tightly through the middle. Jacks, helped by Curran and then Overton, turned the innings on its head with a stunning assault on the last five overs to reach 202 for 7.

In the chase, Italy were 1 for 2 after Archer’s first over before Manenti and Mosca’s 92-run partnership rebuilt dramatically. The pair fell within the same collapse of 4 for 24, but Stewart pushed Italy back into the contest before Curran sliced him and Overton sealed England’s qualification.

Match Scorecard

Player of the Match: Will Jacks (53* off 22 & 1/34) Cricinfo’s MVP: Ben Manenti (82.14 pts) Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata Date: February 16, 2026 Toss: England won; elected to bat (Brook’s fourth toss win in the tournament) Context: England qualified for T20 World Cup 2026 Super Eights; England’s first time breaking 200 in a T20 World Cup match in almost a decade

First Innings: England’s Batting (202/7 in 20 Overs)

Top Order Misfires — England Wobble to 105 for 5

There was a compelling case before this tournament that England possessed the strongest opening partnership in the world, but Jos Buttler and Phil Salt have both been short of their best throughout T20 World Cup 2026. At Eden Gardens, the pattern continued. Buttler miscued to mid-off — the second time in three days he had fallen in this fashion — and Salt picked out deep square leg after a brisk start, leaving England’s two openers with a combined 114 runs across eight innings in the tournament.

Jacob Bethell, who had been England’s highest run-scorer coming into the match, got stuck in the middle overs, eventually hauling a slog-sweep to deep backward square for an uncharacteristic 23 off 20 — a sluggish innings by his usual standards. Harry Brook edged JJ Smuts’ left-arm spin behind while trying to hit a third consecutive boundary. And when Tom Banton picked out midwicket off a Crishan Kalugamage drag-down, England had crashed to 105 for 5 with the innings at 14 overs.

Italy’s spinners deserved full credit. They bowled tightly through the middle overs, took wickets at regular intervals, and were aided by some excellent catching in the deep.

England’s Top-Order Batting

England: 105/5 after 14 overs; 78 off last 5 overs; total 202/7

Jacks Out of the Box — 78 Off the Final Five Overs

Will Jacks is an opening batter by trade but has been recast as England’s No. 7 since Brook took over as captain last summer, and continued his exceptional form in India. He arrived at the crease with England in trouble at 105 for 5, and had 14 off nine balls when a Kalugamage misfield kept him on strike for Manenti’s final two balls. He belted both for six — visibly frustrating Manenti — and immediately changed the mood of the innings.

Curran followed suit with two leg-side launches off Kalugamage before picking out cover, but Jacks pressed on. He brought up his half-century with the second of a pair of sixes in Stewart’s final over — a fifty that arrived in just 22 balls and was the fastest by an England batter at a T20 World Cup. It was also only the second time an England No. 7 has scored a T20I half-century.

This was the second time in four matches Jacks had come to England’s rescue at No. 7. Against Nepal he launched 38 not out off 19 balls — including three final-over sixes — in a four-run win. He is now England’s second-highest run-scorer at T20 World Cup 2026, behind only Bethell, and only Shimron Hetmyer and Ishan Kishan (ten each) had hit more than his nine sixes at the tournament heading into this match.

Jacks and Overton combined to ensure England broke 200 — their first time crossing that barrier in a T20 World Cup match in almost a decade — and 78 runs came off the final five overs.

England Death Overs (Last 5)

England Batting Summary

Second Innings: Italy’s Chase (178 all out in 20 Overs)

Archer Strikes Twice — Italy 1 for 2

Italy began the 203-run chase in the worst possible fashion. Jofra Archer struck twice in his first over to leave Italy at 1 for 2, reducing them to a position that looked ominous on a cricket ground of Eden Gardens’ size. The scoreline briefly conjured memories of Italy’s shock ten-wicket win over Nepal earlier in the tournament.

Manenti and Mosca Rebuild — 92-Run Stand

Ben Manenti’s T20 batting numbers offer little sign of what was to come. He averages 9.23 across 42 Big Bash League matches. But with Italy at 22 for 3 and a run rate soaring against them, Manenti decided there was no purpose in nudging the ball around. He hit his first two balls for four off Jacks’ offspin, then cracked the first balls of both Rashid’s and Liam Dawson’s spells for six as they dropped short.

Manenti was dropped on 38 — under-edging a tough chance through to Buttler — after heaving Curran’s slower balls for consecutive sixes. He brought up a 22-ball fifty, his second in successive innings at T20 World Cup 2026, with a sequence of 4, 6, 6, 4 off Jacks. Italy’s chase had gone from seemingly hopeless to genuinely compelling.

Justin Mosca contributed a composed 43 off 34 at the other end, and the Manenti-Mosca stand reached 92 for the fourth wicket — enough to drag Italy back into striking distance. Manenti fell when he picked out long-on attempting a fifth consecutive boundary, and both men fell within a collapse of 4 for 24 through the middle overs, with Curran’s double-strike in the 16th over appearing to finally put the game to bed.

Italy’s Middle-Overs Collapse

Stewart’s Late Blows — Game Goes Deep

Stewart launched Archer over long-off and then top-edged him for six before trading blows with Jaspreet Singh in Rashid’s final over — which went for 21, including consecutive sixes — to push Italy back into contention and leave the equation at 30 needed off the final two overs. The Manenti-Stewart combination had hit 11 sixes between them in the innings, turning what looked a comfortable England win into a genuine contest.

With 30 needed off 2 overs, Stewart needed to stay at the crease. But he sliced Curran to short third to end the game as a meaningful contest. Overton then struck twice in the final over to seal England’s 24-run win and their passage to Sri Lanka for the Super Eights.

Italy Batting Performance

Manenti + Stewart combined sixes: 11

England Bowling Performance

Match-Winning Performance: Will Jacks

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