Will Jacks insisted England's confidence had not been dented by them limping through the first group stage of the T20 World Cup after they were given another scare by Italy.

England underwhelmed in wins against Nepal and Scotland either side of a loss to the West Indies, but their 24-run win over Italy has taken them into the Super 8s stage. 

As with Nepal and Scotland, it was far from straightforward for England, who finished 202-7, with Jacks' T20 best of 53 not out from 22 balls rescuing England from 105-5. 

The tournament's lowest-ranked side had their moments in the chase, with Ben Manenti (60), Grant Stewart (45) and Justin Mosca (43) all posting solid scores with the bat. 

But Jamie Overton and Sam Curran took three wickets apiece as Italy were bowled out for 178, much to the relief of Jacks. 

"It brings the group together and gives you confidence that you know you can win like that," Jacks said.

"Whether you expect to win like that or not, it doesn't matter. Winning like that can only be good for you.

"We've got a lot of stuff we can get better at, but coming into today, my own personal expectation and desire is that we want to win easily.

"We don't want it to be that close and feel those nerves. But, going forward, it's more experience, and we can never have enough of that."

Job done

On to the Super Eights pic.twitter.com/J1KWFafutm

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) February 16, 2026

England will now head to Sri Lanka, where they recently won both white-ball series, including a 3-0 clean sweep of their hosts in the T20s earlier this month. 

Their opponents are yet to be confirmed. If it goes to seeding, then it will be Sri Lanka, Pakistan and New Zealand with the top two progressing to the semi-finals.

Jacks said he remains as confident in England as when the group left Sri Lanka at the start of the month.

"Going back to Sri Lanka, we feel confident there," he said. "That experience is good for us.

"We've obviously done it the hard way, we've not made it easy. But the most important thing is we are on to the Super 8s."

Jacks blazed his first T20 fifty for England in his 36th match from the number seven spot, having batted without much success in his first 21 matches in the top three.

"To make a mark on the game is something I haven't done enough of in my T20 career," Jacks added.

"There have been a lot of games and many tours where I've not been living up to my own expectations and not doing well for the team.

"To have a match-winning contribution, I'm obviously proud of that."