Harry Brook chose to bat first, keen to put a score on the board and end the group phase on England’s terms. It almost back-fired. At one stage his side were 105 for 5 and staring at a headline nobody wanted to read.
Will Jacks, who later collected the match award, hit a 21-ball fifty to drag the innings up to 189 for 8, yet his post-game verdict was blunt: “We know we need to be a lot better, simple as that.”
The message echoed around a dressing-room that looked more relieved than victorious. Italy, the lowest-ranked team in the competition, replied with 165 for 7 and at times threatened something far bigger. Ben Manenti launched six sixes, Grant Stewart added five more, and Eden Gardens grew restless.
Sam Curran, so often England’s fire-blanket at the death – the final four overs of a chase – was summoned again. “I came on for the 17th over, and I was thinking, ‘how have we got to this stage? It’s one of those again’,” he told Sky Sports. Three tight overs, figures of 3 for 22, and the immediate danger passed, but the sense of vulnerability lingered.
Curran admitted the nervous energy has never really left since the opening escape against Nepal. “I was nervous today,” he said, adding later: “You’ve got to be nervous coming into these tournaments. I had a joke with Morgs [Eoin Morgan] before the toss. He said these are the hardest ones to get through, because I don’t think England have a great record against the smaller nations.”
History backs him up. Saturday’s unconvincing win over Scotland was England’s first against European opposition in six attempts at T20 World Cups. Two other games, versus Ireland in 2010 and Scotland in 2024, were saved by rain. Little wonder Curran concluded: “I guess we’ve got a job done. We can laugh about it, but there’s a lot we can get better at.”
Bat first, wobble later
Brook’s decision to set a total rather than chase – England’s usual preference – was a calculated gamble. “I guess it was a little bit of a risk, choosing to bat,” Curran conceded. He explained the thinking: “We felt like we were fractionally tentative with the bat in the last few games, and we almost thought, ‘why don’t we go out with that positive mindset, and try and put a big score on the board and take them down like that?’ But Italy put in a fantastic performance, had us 100 for 5, and myself and Jacksy had to regroup and go away from what we had planned a little bit.”
Jacks’ counter-attack, laced with scything drives and one outrageous scoop, masked earlier failures. Jos Buttler was yorked third ball, Brook chopped on for 11, and Jonny Bairstow gloved a pull. Depth in batting has been England’s safety net all tournament; once again it had to work overtime.
Manenti, Stewart keep Italy dreaming
Few expected Italy to push England this far. Manenti’s clean hitting off the spinners rattled a few cages, Stewart’s straight driving off Mark Wood did the same for the quicks, and for half an hour the upset barometer flickered ominously. Experience finally told: Wood cranked up the pace, Adil Rashid’s googly slowed the run-rate, and Curran iced it. The final margin, 24 runs, felt flattering.
What next?
Progression to the Super Eights was the minimum requirement and has been met. West Indies, Australia and Pakistan await – a step up Curran believes might sharpen focus rather than fray nerves. The left-armer spoke of “small margins” in these tournaments. England have ridden them so far; Brook and company know they cannot keep gambling.
No-one tried to dress it up as anything else. “We know we need to be a lot better, simple as that,” Jacks had said at the start. By the close, no-one in the England camp disagreed. A narrow escape against Italy keeps the campaign alive, but sterner examinations now loom.
