England were yet again tested by a minnow nation before sealing qualification to the Super Eight with a 24-run win over Italy in a high-scoring thriller in the ICC T20 World Cup match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Monday night. All-round efforts from Will Jacks (53 not out, 1 wicket) and Sam Curran (25 runs, three wickets) powered England across the finish line.
“We haven’t played our best cricket but we’re heading through and going to Sri Lanka. A bit of a trend in this competition. Haven’t stringed together the scores but got to keep being brave and take our options on. We fielded excellently and never in doubt with Sam, he’s been excellent. Jof’s on a heater, wanted to put a big dent in in his first overs. We’ve played in Sri Lanka for a couple of weeks. We’ve got to be brave with the bat… that’s been our downfall so far. We haven’t been brave enough,” said England skipper Harry Brook.
Chasing a hefty 203 on the board, Italy gave a fight to their much-fancied opponents before going down fighting. They folded up for 178.
Jofra Archer struck twice in his opening over, flooring Anthony Mosca and JJ Smuts with pace and bounce. Wicketkeeper Jos Buttler leapt up and plucked the ball in the air as Harry Manenti attempted to scoop Jamie Overton.
After a difficult first two overs, Italy scored 47 for 3 in powerplay. Justin Mosca and Benjamin Manenti mounted a fightback to take their team to 84 for 3 in 10 overs. It was Manenti, who provided the firepower, scoring 60 off just 25 balls, hitting six sixes and four fours. Amidst the chaos, Mosca kept his head down to score 43. Their 92-run stand, off just 48 balls, gave the team a launchpad.
Grant Stewart kept the team in the hunt till the very end with 45 off 23, with the help of five sixes and two fours. But 203 proved a bridge too far for the tournament debutants.
Sam Curran finished with 3 for 22 while Jamie Overton was the most econmical bowler on a plush batting track, returning with figures of 3 for 18 in four overs.
“We always knew England would come hard, but try and take wickets, always in it for middle and back end. Will Jacks batted excellently. We were trying our best on a smallish field and against a good line-up. 200 wasn’t far above par. It was impressive hitting by Ben who come out and struck the ball from the get-go and put pressure back on England,” said Italy captain Harry Manenti.
“A lot of the Associates have put pressure on the big nations and that’s exciting. We had no right to really. Good for the game with 20 teams in the competition. For us to come out, ranked 27th and put pressure on… I was proud of Ben, seen how hard he works. Tonight got an opportunity to show the world. One of the big components of why we were in the game tonight. Grant Stewart, usually a lower-order bat for Kent. Proud to show how good we are. Nothing to lose versus West Indies. This was the biggest game of our careers. We’ll go and compete again and push them to their limits,” he added.
Electing to bat first, England charged out of the blocks scoring 56 runs in powerplay. But they lost a clutch of wickets slipping to 105 for 5 in 12.4 overs. Phil Salt (28), Jacob Bethell (23), Tom Banton (30) all got their eye in but were not able to convert it into a big innings.
Will Jacks and Curran (25 off 19) regained momentum with a fiery partnership of 54 off just 25. The former champions switched gears after 14 overs, plundering 88 overs in the last six overs.
Jacks, who dealt mainly in boundaries towards the end, swept for six to bring up his first T20I and the England 200 in the last over. His 21-ball 50 was the fastest by an Englishman in the T20 World Cup.
Five of the six Italian bowlers were among wickets, but Crishan Kalugamage and Grant Stewart topped with two wickets each. Though they did well in phases, all Italian bowlers conceded eight an over or more.
“We’ve been a bit static at times, and it’s a fast-scoring ground. That was the intent all the way through. First fifty a long time coming but I’m settling into my role. Always aim straight and adjust from there. Manenti was playing incredibly well and striking better than any of us. Most important thing is we’ve qualified but we need to be better, simple as that,” Will Jacks said.
Brief scores: England 202 for seven in 20 overs (Phil Salt 28, Jacob Bethell 23, Tom Banton 30, Sam Curran 25, Will Jacks 53 not out; Grant Stewart 2/51, Crishan Kalugamage 2/41) beat Italy 178 in 20 overs (Justin Mosca 43, Ben Manenti 60, Grant Stewart 45; Jamie Overton 3/18, Sam Curran 3/22, Jofra Archer 2/35).
