Will Jacks star as England qualify for Super Eights with nervy win
Italy beat England close at the Eden Gardens on Monday (February 16), and England's voodoo against European counterparts in T20 World Cups nearly surfaced once more. Despite their best efforts, the World Cup debutants fell short as England secured their berth in the Super Eights with a 24-run win.
Italy's chase for 203 got off to a rough start when Jofra Archer struck twice in the first over, getting JJ Smuts to edge to slip and bounce out Anthony Mosca. Archer and Jamie Overton picked up some serious speed, and the latter got rid of Harry Manenti, who tried to ramp off a short ball but was caught by wicketkeeper Jos Buttler.
Justin Mosca and Ben Manenti then mounted a counter-attack, with the former peeling off three boundaries off an Archer over before Manenti swung into action. Manenti dealt sixes alone after a few fours from Will Jacks. Drag-downs off Adil Rashid and Liam Dawson both disappeared into the crowd, while Sam Curran also took a hit in his first over. Manenti gave Jacks some serious treatment during the fifty-plus stand for the fourth wicket, raising his second half-century of the tournament in just 22 balls.
Manenti kept hitting big shots, hoping for a historic victory, but one too many caused him to fall for a 25-ball 60. That sent the asking rate up and Justin Mosca soon holed out in a bid to keep the chase afloat. Curran's 16th-over double strike appeared to have sealed the Italians' fate, but Grant Stewart had other plans. Stewart broke free with five sixes in the subsequent overs as 65 runs were required in four overs. Rashid, who was surprisingly asked to bowl the 18th over, was carted for 21 runs as the Italian dugout continued to believe.
Curran, on the other hand, dashed those hopes in the final over. Stewart was given out LBW, only for UltraEdge to detect an inside edge but he fell soon after for a valiant 23-ball 45. Overton's double-wicket maiden in the final over sealed a 24-run win and a Super Eights berth for England.
England reached 200 runs earlier, but their batting performance was far from convincing when they batted first, especially in the middle overs. Jos Buttler's poor run of form continued as Phil Salt smashed the first ball of the innings to the fence as he raced out of the traps early. He misjudged Grant Stewart's first pass, sending it into the hands of mid-off in an encore of his dismissal against Scotland. However, Jacob Bethell maintained momentum before England capitalized on Stewart with a 17-run fifth over to reach 50.
Salt pulled one to deep square leg in the final PowerPlay over as England ended the phase at 56/2. After that, the spinners tightened the screws, and Bethell sat low to assist the ball behind square, only to send it into the deep backward square leg's throat. England managed just 32 runs between overs 6 and 10, shortly after which Brook cut loose off JJ Smuts with a four and a six. However, Smuts came out on top as the England captain snatched a wide and short delivery from the wicketkeeper. Tom Banton too failed to convert a start, heaving a Crishan Kalugamage's drag-down to deep mid-wicket.
England were in trouble at 105 for 5, so Jacks and Curran had to get them out of it. Ben Manenti was taken out of the game by Jacks in the 16th over. Curran then went after Kalugamage with a couple of sixes before his dismissal brought a 54-run partnership to an end although enough momentum had been pumped into the innings ahead of the slog-overs.
Jamie Overton contributed with a cameo of his own as Jacks piled the misery on Italy by frequently finding the fence. After that, Jacks hit a six to make a 21-ball half-century, the fastest by an Englishman in T20 World Cups. He also got England past 200, giving the three-time champions a big score to play with that almost wasn't enough for them to get through.
