Will Jacks: 'Perfect game? No one really cares'

England have insisted they do not need a “perfect game” to win the 2026 T20 World Cup after booking their place in the semi-finals with another hard-fought victory.

Speaking after England’s thrilling last-over win over New Zealand, all-rounder Will Jacks dismissed the idea that Harry Brook’s side must produce a flawless performance to lift the trophy for a second time in four years.

“Well, short answer is no,” Jacks said. “We’ve won six out of seven games and we’ve qualified for a semi-final. At the end of the day no one really cares. We obviously want to play well in there, but we’re not gutted that we haven’t played the perfect game because we’re winning. That’s T20 cricket, that’s professional sport. It’s also incredibly hard to do that.”

England have repeatedly found themselves under pressure during the tournament but have shown resilience in decisive moments. Their latest test came while chasing 160 against New Zealand national cricket team, when they required 43 runs from the final three overs.

Jacks and Rehan Ahmed combined calmly to turn the game in England’s favour, sealing victory with three balls to spare. The turning point arrived in the 18th over when Ahmed charged spinner Glenn Phillips and launched him for six. England plundered 22 runs from the over, swinging momentum decisively.

“That ball that Rehan hit, a six on the second ball, that gave me energy as well,” Jacks said. “I thought, right, we’ve got a chance here. Small moments like that are so important – not just the runs but the way it happens. Hitting a big six and really showing the bowler that you believe you can win is crucial.”

Despite finishing the match unbeaten, Jacks admitted he had felt nervous during the chase, recalling how Sri Lanka’s batters had struggled against New Zealand’s spinners on the same surface earlier in the week.

“I knew that was a big task,” he said. “We’d seen how well New Zealand were bowling on that pitch. I knew that was a lot of runs and we needed to do something special.”

England, who topped their Super Eights group, now travel to Mumbai for the second semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium. Their opponents are likely to be either defending champions India national cricket team or the West Indies cricket team, who previously beat England at the same venue during the group stage.

Jacks said the team would embrace whichever challenge awaits. “It would be massive. Everyone knows about India and the storyline that brings. It could also be the West Indies and they’ve beaten us in Mumbai, so we know how tricky that’s going to be. We’ll be prepared and go into it with optimism and excitement.”

Captain Harry Brook echoed those sentiments, highlighting England’s familiarity with conditions at Wankhede as a potential advantage.

“We’re not bothered,” Brook said. “Whoever we’re facing, they’re going to be a tough opponent anyway. We’ve already played there, so it’s nice to go back to a ground we know. Both sides are very strong, very powerful teams and we’ve just got to try and do the little things well again.”

With six wins from seven matches and a growing belief in their ability to handle pressure, England head into the semi-finals confident that perfection may be desirable — but it is not essential.