Jacks and Ahmed find a dramatic late blitz to give England an unlikely victory over New Zealand

A game played on a turning wicket and dominated by spin was appropriately decided after a decisive, ferocious turn. Just when it looked like England’s unconvincing progress at the World Cup was all that was destined to stay on the predictable path, Rehan Ahmed and Will Jacks turned the match and the group in their team’s favor.

England’s chase for a target of 160 looked increasingly forlorn until the 18th over, bowled by Glenn Phillips, which started with them needing an improbable 43 off 18 and ended, two sixes and a couple of fours later, with a manageable 21 required off 12. Ahmed started the next with another boundary to keep the momentum going and before the penultimate delivery the batters gave a consultation. “I said, ‘I’ll get a single and you’ll just have a free hit,’” Jacks said; he got his single and Ahmed deposited the final delivery into the stands. “Those six pretty much won us the game,” Jacks said.

England needed five from the last over. It took three balls to complete the four-wicket victory.

So England added another to their collection of narrow victories and the question now is whether collecting so many of them is down to luck or quality. “It’s probably the latter,” said New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner. “If you can get yourself out of difficult positions and ultimately win games, it does wonders for your self-confidence. There is no better team than one that fights and finds a way to win. There are also different guys who step up at different times, and that’s what you need. I wouldn’t want to play against them in the semi-finals.”

For Ahmed it was a wonderful introduction to the tournament. He was chosen ahead of Jamie Overton for his bowling ability and, with bat in hand, to punish this, he took two wickets in three overs and scored 19 from seven balls. Meanwhile, Jacks was again England’s match-winner, also taking two wickets – conceding just 23 runs from four overs – before hitting 32 off 18 balls.

England have played seven matches at the tournament and this was Jacks’ fourth player of the match award. That he has to continually produce match-winning contributions from No. 7 is a source of concern, but the fact that he is actually producing them is a source of encouragement. “Ideally, I wouldn’t do anything,” Jacks said. “I’m kind of the extra bowler and the extra batter. If I don’t bowl and I don’t bat, we’ve had that perfect game that we keep talking about.”

New Zealand’s defeat gives Pakistan, who play Sri Lanka on Saturday, hope of stealing a semi-final place with an emphatic win, even if the required outcome – a win by 64 runs or a chase completed in 13.1 overs – looks unlikely. England will almost certainly play their semi-final in Mumbai on Thursday against the team that wins the India-West Indies encounter on Sunday.

The game’s thrilling conclusion has not entirely erased the memories of what came before, and in particular the ongoing trials and tribulations of England’s top order. For the second match in a row, both openers were left behind, having scored two and none. Matt Henry, soon to leave Sri Lanka to be with his wife Holly for the birth of their second child, produced a screaming delivery to dismiss Phil Salt, who was caught behind four balls in England’s innings.

Then Lockie Ferguson did the same to account for Jos Buttler, whose two-ball duck means he has now scored 15 off 27 in the last five innings.

“Whoever we play in the semi-finals, it will be a great atmosphere and a great occasion and that will bring out the best in certain players,” Jacks said. “I know [some of] the boys fought for runs. Those guys play well in those situations and they’ve done it before.”

The match started poorly for England, with them failing to take a wicket in the powerplay for the first time and New Zealand scoring freely. In another first, England bowled 16 overs of spin and the run speed slowed considerably in the middle overs as the ball began to grab and spin with increasing extravagance. Phillips in particular may still be wondering how a Jacks throw innocently aimed over him ended up hitting center and outside, and it wasn’t the last time he experienced things spinning out of his control.