Kolkata, Feb 16 (IANS) England batter Will Jacks credited the information shared by the top order and favourable batting conditions after smashing a blistering 53 off 22 balls to power his side to 202/7 against Italy in their Group C clash of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Monday.

Jacks’ explosive knock, studded with towering sixes and clean hitting, lifted England past the 200-run mark after they had slipped into a tricky position midway through the innings. His counterattacking approach in the death overs ensured England finished strongly and seized the momentum.

Reflecting on his innings, Jacks emphasised the importance of information relayed by his teammates, which helped him assess the conditions quickly when he arrived at the crease.

“You’ve got to give credit to the top-order there, because the way they relayed information is obviously critical in T20 cricket, and I had a very good idea of what the pitch looked like when I went out there,” Jacks said after the end of the first innings.

He also described the surface as one of the best England had encountered in the tournament so far, allowing batters to play their strokes with confidence, saying, “Yeah, it’s probably the best one we’ve played on so far, I think. Minimal spin, not much hold with the slower ball, a little bit on the lower side compared to what we’ve seen at the Wankhede, but it’s a very good batting track.”

With England posting a formidable total, Jacks said the focus would now shift to executing their plans with the ball against a capable Italian batting unit. “Always available. Just waiting to see what Brooky wants to do. Yeah, it’s a good score, but we’ve seen how it’s been the fastest in this tournament so far, so obviously we’ve got a dangerous line-up, so we’re going to have to bowl well,” he said.

Jacks also welcomed Italy’s presence in the tournament, noting that England had closely followed their performances leading up to the contest.

“Well, it’s brilliant having them in the tournament. I think we’re lucky that we played them in our last group game, so we’ve been able to watch them earlier on. So we’ve learned from how they’ve gone about that. I think it’s about taking care of what you do first and then looking at the opposition,” he stated.

–IANS

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