Chapter 1: How did England secure their victory against Italy?
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Here comes Overton into both Hassan. Ball's in! Well there it was, full straight, Italy all out for 178. And there, the game finishes at least with a significant punctuation mark as the stumps are splattered and wow, up go the fireworks. Wasn't expecting that, that's a sight. Goodness me. England have won, 24 runs, they're through to the Super 8. It wasn't entirely convincing,
sure the areas that England need to work and will be examined once more but they've got through they've won the game by 24 runs and they can head to Sri Lanka and the Super 8 yeah they've achieved their goal haven't they but they've been unconvincing in making it out of this group I think it's fair to say and I'm sure on honest reflection they'll
identify areas that they have to improve if they're going to compete with the more recognized teams. I think a lot of credit goes to Italy. I think it would have been really easy for them to fade away after losing those three early wickets and to not stay in the game, but they fought and they showed a gumption and an attitude that will serve them well.
This is their first tournament, their first opportunity to play on this stage, and they've done themselves proud, every single one of them can definitely hold their heads up high. 178 runs against an international-class bowling attack like England's. There's nothing to be sniffed at, so... a country in the infancy of its cricketing life, I think has bright days ahead for sure.
But England, it never felt as though they were... There were moments where you thought if there's a miracle, they could lose it, but never throughout the game did you feel as though Italy were...
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Chapter 2: What were the standout performances in the England vs Italy match?
We're going to Sri Lanka now, different conditions, new opposition. We've got a lot of stuff to work on and we'll try our best.
Congratulations anyway, Will. Bye-bye. I was pretty honest that for Will Jacks. Stuff to work on, not at their best, but they got through. And that's all that matters. I mean, it's pretty much what you were saying, Finny.
Yeah, and it's the story of the group stage, really, isn't it? Never once have you watched England and thought they look like potential World Cup champions. But you know, if they piece it together, they can be. And they're one of the teams that can threaten right at the... at the very late stages. But yeah, there are certainly areas to improve.
A batter going on and scoring 80-plus lays the bedrock and the foundation for all of those explosive players in that long batting order to come in and put a really imposing total on the board. And then with the ball in hand, the amount of times that boundaries and sixes in particular hit off the first or last balls of an over,
is also a concern going into the latter stages against teams who will be able to do that more consistently. So those are the two things that I would look upon as needing improvement, but certainly they're aware of it and they're not oblivious to the fact that they're not stood there saying, oh, we've been incredible, we've flown through the group stage.
They're not kidding themselves and they'll endeavour in the next week or so till their next game to do just that.
In terms of England's batting, scorecard saw Phil Salt again getting a start, 28 off 15, Jacob Bethel 23 off 20, Tom Banton 30 off 21, Sam Curran 25 off 19. You sometimes see it in T20 cricket, but we've seen it quite consistently in this tournament that the top order have made starts but not been able to go on.
Yeah, and that's something that when you've got such a long batting line-up, maybe it means that you don't really take...
response to it like because no one's going out there saying do you know what i'll just get 30 then get out everyone wants to go on and score 80 or 90 but maybe there's just that little p in the back of your mind your subconscious mind that says to you um oh but there's other people down the order we've got such a long batting lineup um and will jack save the day today that's why he's player of the match because of those runs that he scored down the back end
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Chapter 3: What challenges did England face during the match?
Yeah, and it's just... It's the nature of T20 batting as well, especially at the top of the order. You have to take risks. You have to make the most of those fielders being up inside the ring. And the fact that you've got that deep batting lineup means you can maybe be a bit freer with trying to do that.
I don't know whether, on reflection, Josh Butler, the two times he's got out the last two games...
sort of wafting at a ball trying to flick it straight as opposed to really dominate it straight down the ground and when he's at his absolute best he's got that still base and it's powerful strokes down the ground and he's imposing for the bowler to bowl at so when he's working in between this game and the next one that's something I'm sure he'll look upon because he's out literally the same way as the game before today.
Is his form a worry, do you think, for England? Not for me. He's played 400-odd games for England. If you panic after a four-match wobble, you don't play 400-odd games for England. So, no, it's not at all for me. He will come good at some stage. He knows these conditions very well. He should be very confident and have the belief that he can make a difference in this tournament for England.
Will Jack saying there that he's enjoying the responsibility down the order to be that finisher 53 not out from from 22 balls it was a really impressive knock that it was and he's doing it really well I'm sure he'd rather be opening the batting that's for sure because it's the best place to be but with the power and the skill of the players at the top of the order there's no room for him so as any player does as I would have done if Andrew Strauss had said to me you
play the test tomorrow but I want you to bowl left arm spin you would try and do that so he's trying to figure out a way and he's having to learn on the job in international cricket about batting at number seven and he's done it excellently in two of the three games that England have won he's been a huge difference between the two teams yeah
And it is that power. And sometimes it's easy to think, oh, well, the extra power down the order, it's giving too much license to those at the top to not take responsibility. But it should be seen as a positive that England bat so deep.
Absolutely, yeah. It's certainly a good thing. You do need different people to put their hands up throughout an international tournament like this. It can't just be the same players all the time who are scoring the runs or taking the wickets. So certainly for him to have done it in this tournament and not to have been a name in vogue coming into it is a good thing.
What about the bowling, Stephen? Because Italy, you know, they got some big scores in there. Ben Manente, 60 off 25. And Will Jacks got his wicket, but it was an over that I think it's fair to say had England panicking briefly because I was just downstairs walking around the ground, but it was...
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Chapter 4: How did Italy perform in their first World Cup match?
We're one of those teams who today we put some pressure on England and we had no right to really against Nepal. We played a really good game of cricket as well. So I think that's it's impressive across the competition that that's happening. Good for the game, especially with 20 teams in the competition.
But I think it's just a matter of games under our belt in those situations against class opposition. You know, one of the top ranked teams in the world for us who are ranked 27th to be coming out here and putting pressure on them is something that we should take great. belief in that we can keep doing that moving forward. There's a little bit of emotion that you can't hide from the cameras.
When Ben was dismissed, we had a shot of you at the back of the group there and the disappointment was palpable. What were your emotions like at that stage?
Firstly, I was proud of him. I've seen how hard he works, especially on his batting as well, which probably doesn't get as much of a look in. And tonight he got an opportunity to show the world how good he is with the bat. I thought he bowled a really good first few overs. He got a bit of a tap in that last one, but that's T20 cricket.
But it was one of the big components of why we were in this game tonight. And, you know, the same thing with Grant Stewart at the end, like... He's a lower order batter usually in Kent in the county system and for him to come out tonight and show what he's capable of doing is proud for me as a captain and player of Italy cricket.
So hopefully we continue to get these opportunities to show how good some of our players are on the world stage. One more to go, one more opportunity to go. How much are you looking forward to that game against the West Indies? Yeah, we've got nothing to lose. We came in today thinking the same thing. For a lot of players, it was probably their biggest game they've ever played in their careers.
And for some, the biggest game they'll ever play. So we've got another opportunity against a really strong West Indies side who have shown their power and their ability. And it's up to us to try and go and compete again and really push them to the limits. And I think that's our aim across the whole competition. It's been enjoying watching you all the best in that last game.
And thank you very much for your time.
Thanks, Ian. Cheers. Thank you very much to Italy's captain, Harry Manenti. Harry Brooke, the other Harry, is here. Harry, qualification sealed to the Super 8.
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Chapter 5: What improvements does England need to make for the Super 8s?
We've obviously played there before, we had a couple of weeks there, so we know what the conditions are like, and we've just got to go back and do what we were doing whilst we were there, which is adapting, but like I said a minute ago, make sure we're being brave with the bat especially.
You've only got 20 overs to bat, and you've got to try and get as many runs as possible, and that's probably been our little downfall in this group stage so far, is we haven't quite been brave enough and taken on our options as much as we could. Well, I hope you peaked at the right time, as you said, you've still got room ahead of you. Thank you very much for your time, Harry.
Thank you. Cheers. Thoughts of the two captains chatting to Ian Bishop. So Harry Brook acknowledging England not perfect. And there was that moment, Stephen, we'll get on to Italy in just a second. But there was that moment in the 12th over where Ben Menente hit 4-6-6-4. And then was caught by Tom Banton in the deep 60 off 25. And it was just a little moment where the crowd were up and about.
Yeah, the crowd are up and about and you could see when the ball's disappearing all over the place in T20 cricket. As a bowler in particular, your mind can be going a thousand miles an hour and you just need to try and stay calm, think about what your plan's going to be and execute it. And after...
those, the first four deliveries of that over, I think it was, he changed his plan to go around the wicket and try and bowl wide. And that was the correct option. And that was in consultation with Harry Brook, who grabbed the ball, walked over to Will Jacks and said, let's change this plan. Let's not just bowl him six balls from
outside off from over the wicket for him to wallop away so although a couple of those Jacks was trying to go quick and straight but Manenti was one step ahead so yeah good to slow the game down in that moment but certainly when that ball was disappearing England would have thought no we don't need this
Yeah, there was just a sense around the ground that something could be about to happen, quite dramatically so. But England do win by 24 runs. But you have to say Italy, World Cup debut, 178 all out against an England side is a really spectacular effort.
Yeah, it is. And actually, I think the bit where they were most in the game, because I think chasing that total, they had to keep going for it. And that freed them up. And that partnership was brilliant where they had England on the back foot and is certainly a sign of what they can do, what Italy would be most disappointed with.
is the position that they had England in after 15 overs, 124 for five. You're there thinking, well, one or two wickets even here on this means England then only end up getting 175. And that...
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Chapter 6: What did Will Jacks say about his performance?
We kind of worked around 180 the whole way. And naturally, the way he was striking it and Jamie O came in, a nice couple of hits. And yeah, we bat well together. It was a little consolidation period and get ourselves in. And then we had some nice hits towards the end. But yeah, another another nervy game in the end.
But you must enjoy the all-round nature of what you're able to achieve in this England team since you've come back into the side. Yeah, it's been pleasing. Baz has given me that full belief and confidence in the roles I'm doing. And I think I've come back in with a little bit of a different mentality in terms of just the way of playing for England.
Kind of bring that attitude I've got with my 100 teams and Sarri and... I guess just kind of enjoy it and have that smile on my face again and get in the competitive battle. So you've seen the last couple of games where I guess the pressure is on and it gets competitive. I'm just thinking, well, if I don't do it, I don't do it. But most of the time, if you believe in yourself, you can get there.
Let's talk about the bowling effort. As you say, you got over 200.
You must have been very confident at the halfway stage and then you get the early wickets as well. So, you know, that must have been a good place for him to be at that stage.
Yeah, good score. I thought we probably would have taken that, but I think that's the hard thing about this format and we play on really small grounds. I think the conditions in Sri Lanka will be slightly different, which is another challenge. But I guess it's just more the adjusting. Joff bowled beautifully the first couple of overs, nice and fast.
Got them one for two, so that always dents in their chase. But yeah, the way Harry Mane...
Manenti boys came out and played was put a lot of pressure on us and um clean striking Grant Stewart plays a lot of county cricket against us and um clean strikers of the ball so um we never take anyone lightly and they challenged us and thankfully we got over the line and you bowled another very important over against Nepal it was the final over it was the 19th there wickets keeping the runs down because they were in with a chance at the start of that over yeah of course and kind of um I was watching again you're watching the field you plan your over and
I guess it just comes down to a little bit of execution. Calcutta is probably one of the toughest places to bowl. I think it's so small. You see their strikes quite effortlessly, guys hitting sixes. So, yeah, it was nice. We're just pleased to get over the line. And I think we've got a few days now to head to Sri Lanka and plan for whoever is going to be in our group.
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Chapter 7: How did the captains reflect on their teams' performances?
And now we focus on the teams that we know will be in our group. And you know what it's like to win this tournament.
You're a player of the series when England last won the T20. Are you having that message across to the other players, perhaps newer to the team, to say, look, we're in the Super 8s, not anything can happen?
Well, I think that'll probably be the chat today after this game. We've kind of got that first hurdle done. We definitely have been not fully at our best, but I guess, like I said, you can look at that in a positive. We've been to Sri Lanka recently as well, so that was fantastic for us to be there. Playing in, I guess, Kandy, where we played a lot of cricket as well recently, so...
I think we're really well prepared and hopefully now that we've got over the small little hurdle, we've been challenged and now we can go out there and hopefully make the England fans proud. Well played, Stoke. Cheers, thank you.
Thoughts there of Sam Curran chatting to Adam Mountford. Steve and Finn, before we say goodbye, it's interesting, isn't it, hearing that repeated message that the challenge of playing sides that you never really face and bowlers, batters that you never get the opportunity to come up against when you're so expected to win.
Yeah, and it's that pressure that can weigh down on teams quite heavily, can't it? Especially when you're out there in the middle making your decisions. You don't want that little man on your shoulder saying, well, you should be winning this. It takes away your concentration from what you're trying to execute in that very finite moment.
So, yeah, England will be relieved, I think, to have made it through the group stage. They've been pushed hard. harder than they'd have liked. But they've showed steel and determination in those moments to get through and come out on the right side of those results that maybe in the past other England teams wouldn't have done. So I think that bodes well for them.
But I think everyone has repeatedly said the same message, including us up here, that they need to
improve and tidy up those areas of their games that we highlighted earlier in order to compete towards the back end of this tournament but given their recent history in Sri Lanka and the way that they won that T20 in one day international series there in recent times I think that stands them in good stead.
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Chapter 8: What are Italy's goals moving forward in the tournament?
It was an incredible effort by our boys to take on that side and to take it to him. I'm super proud of the bowling unit. It was awesome.
Because you must overall, although you're obviously disappointed now, when you step back in a few days, you'll look and think you took double world champions England pretty close in a World Cup game. And what you've done for Italian cricket, showing what you can do, will go down a long way, won't it?
Yeah, you're spot on there. Emotion's raw, and I think when you're playing any sport, your competitive instincts take over. So when you lose, it's always going to be raw. It doesn't matter the situation.
But as you said, when we reflect on the three games we've had so far, because we've still got one more, I think we're going to be able to sit there and be very proud of what we have done so far, especially to bounce back after that first game. We were well below our best. To bounce back and to put on these two performances...
We can definitely hold our heads up high and show that Italian cricket are here to stay and we've got a lot to offer to this group. What are you looking to achieve in the final game? Obviously you've got a win, but what else are you looking for? Yeah, to be honest, like you said that, it's pretty simple, look to win.
But I think our goal as a nation and as a very new cricketing nation, it's just to keep putting these good...
performances on the board just to show that we're not just one-hit wonders and we're not here to fill gaps, we can compete and again we're gonna have the same attitude with the West Indies as we did to the English and that's to take it to them and hopefully take it deep and with a bit of luck the result goes our way and if not we'll reflect and enjoy every moment of this because we are very fortunate very lucky to be a part of it and hopefully we're setting something up for the future of Italian cricket.
And in terms of stories, you know, I don't know if you know, but Andrew Bocelli sent you a good luck message before this match. You know, he's a worldwide opera star and he's getting involved in Italian cricket. And you've had, you met the footballers, you're growing your hair to look like one of the Italian footballers. The story's brilliant overall, isn't it?
Yeah, and that's another one I think we'll be able to reflect on at the end of the tournament. You know, I didn't know Bocelli sent us that good luck message and that is brilliant.
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