Will Jacks delivers as England beat Sri Lanka in Kandy Super 8 clash
will jacks played a decisive all-round role as England beat Sri Lanka in the Super 8 match at Kandy on February 22, 2026, helping his side defend 146 and move one win from a T20 World Cup semi-final.
Will Jacks turns match with bat and ball
In Kandy on February 22, 2026, will jacks made 21 with the bat and took three wickets with the ball, including two wickets in two balls, as England defended a total of 146. His two quick dismissals swung the match in England’s favour during the chase, and those breakthroughs came at a moment when Sri Lanka were attempting to close the gap on England’s target of 146.
England defend 146 to set up semi-final push
England’s bowlers backed up Jacks’ strikes to hold Sri Lanka below their required run rate, enabling the side to complete the Super 8 win in Kandy on February 22, 2026. The victory came on captain Harry Brook’s 27th birthday and left England one win away from a World Cup semi-final, with the team sitting a single victory from progressing to the last four.
Form this winter: Ashes, engagement and earlier World Cup hits
Jacks’ contributions in Kandy added to a winter of highs and lows. He made his Ashes debut in Australia and got engaged to his partner Ana in Sydney. In this World Cup he already had three man-of-the-match awards, having hit 39 not out against Nepal and a first T20 fifty of 53 not out against Italy earlier in the tournament. Off the field, his Ashes bowling figures included two wickets in the third Test in Adelaide that cost 212 runs in that match, and across the series he took six wickets for 394.
Brook praised Jacks’ competitiveness after the Kandy win, saying the player was “annoyed when he got out tonight” and that the annoyance helped his bowling. Jacks’ 21 and his three wickets on February 22, 2026 were cited as a key gift for Brook on his birthday.
England now sit one win from a World Cup semi-final, with the victory in Kandy on February 22, 2026 putting them firmly in position to reach the last four if they can secure one more win in the Super 8 stage.
