Will Jacks the hero again as England fight back to win thriller

Good afternoon and welcome to live coverage of England’s last fixture in the Super 8 stage of the 2026 T20 World Cup. Victories over Sri Lanka and Pakistan have already secured their place in the last four for the fifth tournament running and a win today would put them through as group winners, but we do not know what that would mean in terms of venue for their semi-final as that depends on whether New Zealand can run them closely enough in defeat to eliminate Pakistan, who play Sri Lanka tomorrow. Should the Kiwis defeat a team coached by their countrymen Brendon McCullum, Jeetan Patel and Tim Southee, they would go through as group winners, consigning England to a very tough semi-final against South Africa, the best team in the tournament by miles. Having said that, India and West Indies would also be formidable opponents. 

The match in Colombo is being played on the same turning pitch used for NZ’s 61-run victory over their hosts on Tuesday when Mitchell Santer used five spinners, including himself, and Rachin Ravindra took four for 27. England, presuming that they stick to the same side as they have done for the last five games, will have four spin options in Adil Rashid, Liam Dawson, Will Jacks and Jacob Bethell, plus the knowledge that they have twice beaten their opponents in this tournament when hosted on the subcontinent.

With spin so predominant it makes sense for Harry Brook to continue at No3, giving him time against the wonderful Matt Henry should Jos Buttler’s slump continue, before facing an ordeal by tweak. His hundred on Tuesday off 50 balls was perfectly paced and his partnerships with Sam Curran and in particular Will Jacks were noticeable for the way they ran the field ragged, turning singles into twos. Although alarms about Buttler’s form have overshadowed the build-up, England have shown in this tournament that they have never been less reliant on their greatest ever T20 batsman. And that has to be a good thing.