T20 World Cup: Jacks takes jittery England to Super 8s

The 12^th over of Italy’s chase on Monday evening told the story of just how close Italy came to pulling off a stunning upset against a storied team like England. Will Jacks could only watch as an under-edge four off Benjamin Manenti was followed by two magnificent thumps for sixes and the fifth ball was turned to backward point for a four. Then the England offie stepped up and pushed one a little further from Manenti who took a swipe but only to see the ball loop to mid on for a simple catch. The older of Manenti brothers playing for Italy, Ben was out for a 60 off 25 balls after a partnership with Justin Mosca (43 of 34) made England sweat it out.

The final score as Italy made 178 after England posted 202 did not do justice to game that had England fans at the edge of their seats on more than one occasion. For Italy did not disappoint after turning out at Kolkata’s famed Eden Garden stadium for a T 20 World Cup match. It was a rare opportunity for a nation not usually associated with Cricket and the Italians did not let the occasion overwhelm them. Rather, they gave the appreciative crowd its money’s worth and announced the arrival of “Forza Azzurri” in a game other than football where Italy has struggled in recent years.

Interestingly, Italy does not have a turf wicket though the national cricket association tweeted about the possibilities “…but imagine this, T20 World Cup 2032 or 2034 in Rome, Milan. Cricket under the Colosseum skies. Opera before anthems. Imagine the final: Italy vs Australia or India vs Italy. In Rome. Under floodlights?” It will be a while before Italian cricket evolves but the goal is enticing and not just a flight of imagination going by the rapid progress of associate nations in the T 20 format. It bears to keep in mind that Italy became an International Cricket Council (ICC) member in 1995 and qualified ahead of Scotland for the current world cup.

Jacks not only struck the vital blow, getting rid of the dangerous Manenti when the game hund in balance, he was instrumental in saving England’s blushes when it was batting by scoring a quickfire 53 not out off 22 balls while Sam Curran – who is proving his worth every match – got 25 runs of 19 balls. Phil Salt, Jacob Bethell and Tom Banton got starts but did not maximise the returns as Ben Manenti along with brother Harry got among the wickets. It would have been a mistake to think that Italy could be rolled over by a modest score even though the Blues score card had four ducks indicating the lack of experience in the side.

England had a better match than the four run win against Nepal and have secured their Super 8 spot but the jittery encounter will give the squad much to think of. Yet, they are through while former champions Australia are teetering on the edge of being out of the competition after losses to Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka. England will now have to gear up – mentally as much as anything else – for a fiercer round in a competition where reputations are being pummelled by unfancied teams riding on luck and pluck.