Jacks & Ahmed stun New Zealand in Colombo

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Henry into Jax. Well, he's got a fair bit on that. He's going to run away for four. And England have won the game. Short pulled round the corner corner and England have won by four wickets with three balls to spare. New Zealand are not yet through to the semi finals and England will top the group. And I don't know how that's happened. It's come from nowhere. England have won an extraordinary game here at the R Premadassa Stadium to clinch top spot in their group. They are already through to the semi finals but now they have won three out of three by defeating New Zealand by four wickets in dramatic and thrilling fashion. I'm Daniel Norcross. Alongside me is World cup winner Alex Hartley. As we reflect on what absorbing fascinating game of cricket on a very unusual surface. The first thing that everybody needs to understand here is that these pictures are nothing like the ones we get in India. And this one particularly today, turned so extravagantly. England ended up bowling 16 overs of spin. Actually New Zealand ended up just bowling 4.3 overs of seam themselves. They bowled 15 over the spin. We've seen 31 overs of spin out of 39.3 overs and the spinners on top throughout, had England in all sorts of trouble, having set them 160 to win when they were six down for 117 with three and a half overs to go. Needing 43. At that time, they looked absolutely dead and buried, but somehow Rehan Ahmed and Wheeljax in a blistering display have. Well, they've taken down Glenn Phillips, they've taken down Mitchell Satner, and they finished it off of Matt Henry to ensure that New Zealand will have a little nail biting. 24 hours uncertain of their future progress in this tournament. For England, again, it's a tale, Alex Hartley, of winning a game somehow without anybody really dominating. You look at their scorecard today. The top scorer was Tom Banton with 33 out of a total of 161. No one went on the other day. Harry Brook did. He got his hundred. But it's about contributions throughout and England have done that. They did that with a ball that used plenty of. Plenty of spinners. Five of them. I think in the end, everybody chipped in to a certain degree. And for New Zealand, it'll be, well, not heartbreaking because they are still in the box seat. They know that Pakistan need to win handsomely against Sri Lanka in Kandy in the last game of this group, but they had that game and they've let it slip and that must be a bit galling.

Yeah. You'd be so frustrated as a New Zealand player when it just looked like they were gonna walk. It looked like it was gonna be one of those games that just peters out and it's a bit of a dead end to the game, but brilliant. I mean, obviously Ray and Ahmed hasn't played a single game in this World cup until today, where they're on a used surface. They knew it was going to turn, so they tactically changed their team. Jamie Overton, who's played most of the games, or he's played every game since the first one where Luke Wood played, they swapped him out and ends up winning the game for them in the end.

Yeah. We'll take you back to the beginning when New Zealand won the toss, elected to bat, put pressure on England on a pitch that we already expected would turn and would only get worse was the expectation. And the. The inning started very untypically for the. For the rest of the match. Joffre Archer opened the bowling for England, bowled a maiden. He nearly had a wicket in the first over one that was overturned on review. And we thought then, or at least watching it, you were Thinking, oh, there's a bit of nibble in here. The Pacers could have a bit of fun. But that was a bit of a false dawn for the seamers because thereafter Liam Dawson opened at the other end, not Will Jacks. Another sign of Harry Brooks flexibility in his captaincy. We've seen Will Jacks open the bowling before, as he did against Pakistan, wasn't it? Up at. Up at Kandy or Sri Lanka. So flexibility there. But once Liam Dawson came on and it started to become clear that the ball was going to turn, you then thought, well, Harry Brook, he's got this phalanx of spinners, he'd added to it, as you said, with Rayon Ahmed, who is playing in place of Jamie Overton. And that was the tale, really. A really good start from yes. And presenting the mat of the match,

Simon Dull to Will Jacks.

32 with the bat.

Extraordinary of 18 balls and 2 for

23 with the ball.

Congratulations. You've done this before.

This is your fourth player of the match, the tournament. How does this one rate?

I reckon this is the best. I'm absolutely buzzing with that. To be not out of the end in a tight finish. When I went out there, it was on a bit of a knife edge and I'm over the moon.

How did you hold your nerve at the end there? You've got yourself a bit of a reputation now as a finisher for this team. So how did you hold your nerve?

It's just about keeping it simple. I think Rehan played an absolutely brilliant innings. Everyone who came out on that pitch struggled straight away and took time to get the pace of it, how slow it was. And I think that 60 hit second ball off Glenn Phillips kind of up to the ante and just put them on the back foot. And then I was able to play off him there. The game was kind of laid out for us with how they were going to bowl in the outfield and the conditions. So I just tried to utilise that.

What were you two talking about in the middle in terms of how you get this total?

Was it just one ball at a

time or were you thinking bigger picture?

Well, the overall Phillips we spoke about, we need to take a risk here. I think it was 15 and over and offspinner to two right handers. We thought that was our matchup. And then for the other two, we talked about just hitting the gaps hard and running hard. It's a massive boundary out this side. Slow surface, so you're not always going to be able to clear the field. And we Picked up a couple of twos which were crucial.

That over you also got two wickets.

So it's been a great night out

for you, but that finish was superb. Would you say that you personally are peaking at the right time of this tournament?

Yeah, I feel really confident right now. I feel calm in the middle, which I think is. It's like another string to your bow. If you're calming and you know what you're trying to do, then, yeah, that could be more vital than anything. And going into the semifinals now, I think myself and the team, we're going in the right direction. Three wins in the Super 8s against three strong sides. We're very happy.

Yeah, well, congratulations.

Enjoy tonight.

We'll see at the semi final.

Thank you.

Well, there he says England are going to be very confident. Three wins against three strong sides. They have been very, very good in the Super Eights in the sense of getting over the line and you've got to applaud them for that. And Bill Jack's a fourth player of the match. That's absurd.

He's having great World cup, isn't he? You know, he's finding. He's helping the team find ways to win. I mean, he's just been so. He's probably one of the only players, actually, that has been so consistent when it comes to the having the bat in hand and you look down the order and you go, okay, they've got a bit of breathing space, a bit of wiggle room because, you know you've got wheeljax coming in so, so late. Yep.

Well, we'll come back to him. Let's first return to the New Zealand innings because Tim Seifert, Finn Allen, after that race, sticky first couple of overs really got motoring. Tim Sypher did a couple of monster sixes, 35 off, 25 for him with a couple of sixes. Finn Hallen, he only dealt in sixes, didn't hit me. Fours, 29 off 19. And it was a sort of same old story for New Zealand, wasn't it? That top order of Seifert and Finn Allen, 64 without loss, which they felt ahead of the game because you sort of thought, there's something in this pitch. There was something for Archer. And then you could see we're starting to turn. And it felt kind of ominous and kind of. I mean, in my mind I was thinking 150, 155 would be defendable on here with the number of spinners that they got. And that probably would have been had it not been for the incredible assault From Rayon Ahmed and Will Jacks at the back end. So again, are there causes for concern for England that they let New Zealand getaway? It's quite rare for them not to pick up wickets in a power play and today they didn't quite manage that.

Yeah, no, it's. I don't think there's any concern. I mean, obviously there is when it comes to Joss Butler, you know, there's a lot of talk around him and I just, I just feel sorry for him now. Like really, really feel sorry for him because you could just see when he got out today he was almost like you joking. Like you're actually winding me up. Like this is just going from bad to worse. I've got no doubt that he will score runs at some stage, but no, I think, I think the, the encouraging thing is that they're finding ways to win and that's how you win tournaments. You get yourself over the line in situations where you possibly shouldn't. And so look, with the ball, it, you can. We've just seen five minutes ago how quickly it can change. So I don't think New Zealand got away from England and got too many. They probably got what was probably about par.

Yeah, it probably was. It was up 159 they ended up with. And it was another tale of spin bowlers doing their thing for Harry Brook and here in Sri Lanka ended up bowling 16 overs a bit. Joffre Archer for the first time as an England player bowled only three overs and it completed 20 over innings when England have bowled first. There's been one other time when he didn't bowl and it was against Australia, didn't. He didn't bowl a fourth over. That was against the USA the T20 World cup when Chris Jordan picked up a hat trick and the innings ended after 18.5 overs. So he was going to bowl the 20th. But this time it was the plan and it was a successful one because Rayyan Ahmed, who'd come into the team, who bowled the 20th over, he ended up with 2 for 28. Adil Rashid picked up 2 for 28. He's now just one wicket behind Ish Sodi in fourth place of all time, leading T20I wicket takers Will Jax, as you heard in that interview, he picked up 2, 2 for 23. Liam Dawson got one. Sam Curran only bowled one over today. Joffre Archer only bowled his three. Even Jacob Bethel got a got a little look in first over the tournament after he had that problem with his finger. So they're kind of looking at that, just to see if he's going to be useful come the semifinals. His over went for 13. It wasn't a great over, but it was the indication, wasn't it, of how the pitch was playing. And after that opening partnership was so successful, there's a little stutter. But at 123 for three New Zealand, we're actually well placed to get a well above par total. They ended up rather stuttering, getting just another 36 runs, losing seven wickets in the end overall and setting England 160. Now, you've alluded to what happened next and we need to talk about this. We need to talk about Jos. And it's not just Joss, it's Phil Salt as well, because although he hit that 60 the other day, this opening partnership, which has been the bedrock of England's great run in T20 internationals for quite a while now, is really spluttering just at the wrong time. Salt out very early on in a first over for two. Joss Butler, who we thought might be freed from the chains of concern and fear. The manner of his dismissal, Alex, is one that will cause more concern than the fact that he got out. If he got out, caught the boundary, these things happened. But he didn't. He got out nibbling and it was not nice.

Well, the one thing that was different about the way he got out today was the he actually came out of his crease and he used his feet. So it was on his mind and maybe realized he's been stuck in the crease on occasion throughout this World Cup.

Yes. Thanks very much. Mitch Sandler, New Zealand captain, is patiently waiting. Thanks for your time. Your reflections on the match. Overall, it was a good match.

A tight match. Yeah. I think, you know, the way England kind of paced that chase and then obviously the way Willy J and Rayan kind of. But the finishing touches was. It was.

It was good betting defeat. Not ideal, obviously for you, but a narrow defeat, I suppose is the next best option.

Yeah, yeah. I mean, obviously it would have made easier if we made our lives easy if we won, but again, you know, we played a pretty good game. There's obviously moments both for the bat and the ball that you could probably look back on and kind of turn the game on us a little bit. But again, yeah, credit single on the way they played.

When you look back at those moments, which would they be specifically?

Yeah, I think we set up a good platform for, you know, to target the last few overs, then lost a few there and we only kind of scraped to 160 could have easily been 170. And then I guess at the end, you know, you need 40 off kind of the last three. And yeah, I think the way they were able to take down the offie and obviously at the end was good betting.

I was going to ask that about because you got a good platform in the power play, 50 odd for none and you'd know from the game two nights ago that that score is a competitive one. But were you slightly underwhelmed with the final total after the first six overs?

Yeah, I think, I think, I guess we the, the other innings we kind of lost wickets throughout and then, you know, we're able to get to a score through I guess the last four of us. But you know, tonight we kind of set a platform, got to the second timeout in a pretty good spot and then, you know, maybe took some tough options straight after the timeout. But again, you know, you need to kind of get runs and we were thinking at that stage, 170, 175 would have been a really good score.

And Ran Ahmed coming in for his first game. A player that comes in like that, they're often dangerous, aren't they, because they're on a shot to nothing really. And nothing to lose.

Yeah, for sure. I mean, you know, Ran showed his class with the bat in the last kind of couple years and obviously a very good player of spin. So, you know, he wasn't really phased on that wicket. So. Yeah, and I guess his partnership with Jaxie, but also set up by Banson and Curran after just losing a few at the start.

Well, thanks for your time as always. And you'll have a nervy wait, no doubt, but good luck over the next two days.

Yeah, we'll probably be watching the game tomorrow, so. Yeah, thank you.

Thanks for your time. Harry Brook is all smiles. Well, there were moments in the second half of the game there where you probably felt it was slipping away, but an extraordinary partnership in the last three or four overs there between Will Jackson, Ray and Ahmed.

Yeah, and we've seen what Ray can do in the nets and he's gone out there and played beautifully there and taken the game away from them alongside Jaxy, who's got his fourth man of the match this tournament, which is the most everybody's just told me. So he's pretty happy with that performance.

Rayyan Ahmed was a conditions specific selection for here. You go back to India now he's put his name in the hat as well because Mumbai obviously may spin as well, which is where you'll be going, yeah.

And there's conversations to be had. But we said from the start of the comp and we said it to the group we're going to select on conditions and we thought that today was the perfect opportunity to bring him in and he did an amazing job.

And did you feel that New Zealand would be a really good marker for you this evening? You know, you hadn't put the perfect game together and there are areas of weaknesses to work on, but also a good side to test yourself with the semi final ahead.

Yeah, absolutely. And they're a very strong side. I think they've gone unbeaten before now. So, yeah, we played against them before Christmas. We knew how strong they were and they do everything so well. They do the little things really well with the running between the wickets and then they've got some extreme power with the batting and likewise with the ball in the very skillful outfit.

Had to ask you about Jos Butler's form in the last game. Obviously no runs, but is your response the same that he's a class player and you'll be backing him to come good?

Yeah, I think there's been a lot said about Joss. I said the other day that he's played 150 games for England and people probably need to take a little step back from that. He's probably the best white ball player to have ever played the game. He's in a little bit of a rut now, but I think that's an exciting thing for everybody in the world to know what he could produce in the next couple of games. He's obviously got a lot of fire in the belly and he wants to go out there and show everybody what he's made of. Look, he averages 34, striking at 145 in 150 games. And yeah, he's a phenomenal player and I have no doubts he'll go out and do well.

You mentioned Will Jacks fourth player of the match award. You made the decision a little bit before this tournament to bat him in that finishing position, which is not his accustomed position. What gave you confidence that he'd be able to transfer to a different role?

He's just a proper batter. There was one instinct we played against the West Indies at the start of our summer and he came out with and he just leant on his first ball for four through the covers or two or whatever. And that's just a good sign. I think a lot of lower order batters come out and they block it or they try and hit a wild swing, but he's a proper batter. He's got first class hundreds. He's played test cricket and as we've seen tonight, he's got immense power as well.

It is Mumbai for you. Now, you don't know your opponents yet. It's going to be India or West Indies. Dare I ask who you would prefer to face?

We're not bothered. We just got to go out there and whoever we're facing, they're going to be a tough opponent. Anyway. We've already played against West Indies at the Waingkadi already, so a little bit of experience there. It's nice to go back to a ground that we've already played on as well. So yeah, both sides are very strong, very powerful teams and we've just got to go out there and try and do the little things well again.

And do you sense after an unbeaten Super 8 stage that your team is peaking at the right time?

I think so, yeah. We still haven't played that perfect game. We haven't, we haven't had the starts that we'd like to with bat and ball. We've done well with the ball but the bat's been a little bit off. But we've managed to get over the line in some very close games and I think in World Cups that holds you in really good stead going into the final stages of it.

Well done tonight. Semi final in Mumbai awaits. Good luck.

Thank you.

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that could shift the future of social Media. Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your Podcasts. A couple of things there that immediately struck me. Firstly, that Mitchell Sattner seems to know every single England player's nickname. He called Wheeljacks Willy J at one point, Bance had done this, this out the other, which kind of tells you something about the way these players, they know each other inside out. They've played against each other time and time again and the game was played in a fabulous spirit. But also Joss Butler, we need to discuss this because we were in the middle of talking about him when we were so rudely interrupted by the captains. Out for another duck, another single figure score. He's got a massive vote of confidence from his captain there. The question that we were talking about during the break, I'd like to put to you, which is that can England win a T20 World cup if Joss Butler isn't in the team and isn't firing?

Yeah, yeah, absolutely they can. They've proven that they can win games of cricket when Joss Butler's not performing because he's not performing. And they're still winning. And they were the first team to qualify for a semi final. They've finished top of the group. They don't, England don't absolutely need him to, to win a World Cup. But I think I agree with Harry when he was saying, you know, just give him a bit of slack, you know, he's, he's obviously human. He can't be at the, the peak of your game all the time. But he has played 150 games for England. You know, he's the best that they've produced. So, yeah, I, it's, I'm not concerned by it and I think. But when you look at the numbers, I can see why people are, I

mean, it strikes me that England have got such a deep batting order that they're going to risk it anyway. If it is a risk. I mean, is it really a risk? He's such an all time great for England. And when you saw today, for example, Rayan Ahmed walking in at number eight and we had that stat earlier about how the bottom five have got 38 first class hundreds and the top five have got 37 first class hundred. So there's a real depth to England's batting and in a sense, especially with Harry Brook now happy to go up at number three and he went and did it today after England lost that early wicket. They were 2 for 2 at one stage an appalling bother. And he did, I mean, he wasn't truly spectacular today. 26 off 24. They bowled very well. To him, he did hit one six. That was truly amazing. The kind of flick was nothing more than a flick.

Yeah.

That hit the big screen and knocked out a few pixels. It was an amazing shot. So England have got that firepower, but they are still stuttering. We saw Jacob Bethel get out again to the same sort of shot. Caught in the deep, trying to access the long boundary. We saw Banton getting out to a long hop, caught at deep mid wicket. Banton top scored with 33. But that's sort of been England's, I say a problem. Maybe it's. Maybe it's how they are going to win a World Cup. It doesn't have to have somebody getting 80, maybe people get. Everybody gets 30.

If you look at how England played in the last World cup, the T3 World cup that they won in, 22, 3, 22 they had. It was like this. It was bitty. It was. Everyone chipped.

Cowan was player of the tournament, wasn't he?

Yep.

So, right, Artif Dumas has joined us.

Hello.

Firstly, your reflections on. On the end of that game, because we haven't quite gone through all that side. I mean, England subsided to 58 for 4. A partnership was put together, got them to 100 for 5. Sam Curran chipping in with 24 alongside Banton. But then when Banton and Curran were out, England needed at that stage, 43 off 19. There was a dot off that ball that he did 43 off the last three overs on a pitch where people were struggling, 160 was par. Almost just above it, really. It was turning sideways and in the blink of an eye, Rayan Ahmed and Will Jax have won the game and offer Pakistan a lifeline.

They have. And, you know, it really was quite extraordinary to watch as well, just because it looked like it was done. You know, I was sort of watching just behind you guys, the game, resigned to it, really, because, you know, New Zealand had played a brilliant game of cricket and it looked like they had the game, the equation, very much in hand, completely against the run of play. You know, Rayon Ahmed came out his first World cup match, his first run in this World cup, on probably one of the most difficult pitches to pad baton at this World cup, and just played with the kind of freedom that just. It felt like he was the visual representation of what Brendan McCullum wants from his players. To go out there and feel absolutely no fair and just try and hit these big shots so comfortably down the ground, retain his composure, you know, just be attacking, have that positive intent. It was superb. And then Will Jax alongside him. You know, what can you say about Will Jack? He's just. Just a match winner for England. He just wins games over and over again. You know, we've talked about a bitty performance from England prior and all the way kind of through this World cup, other than that one Harry Brook masterclass where he sort of carried the team. But, you know, I feel like this is where Will Jacks is going to flourish for the majority of his T20 career in playing these short but impactful innings for England that take them over the line in crunch situations. It probably helped that there wasn't an enormous amount of pressure on the game for. For England, like knowing that they were going to go through the semi finals either way. But, you know, we talk. We hear that word all the time from England. Momentum and, you know, just keeping a good run going, stringing wins together. This will do them a world of good. They'll be feeling very confident, very pleasant on the flight over to India.

It's. It's a little unusual though, because Will Jack suspend his entire franchise life opening the batting? It's got an IPL 100. And, you know, when Butler does eventually hang up those boots, whether it be sooner or later, he would seem like an obvious fit to go up the order. But now think that looking at this and thinking, is there anybody better come and, like, sort out, like, really nervy situations at the end of a match.

Ray and Ahmed, he doesn't feel nervous.

So you just put Jax up the top, just bring up rear Ahmed in.

Yeah, I would. I don't mind that at all. But look, he's adaptable. And when Harry Brooks said he's a proper batter, I totally understand that and I totally see that because he can bat anywhere. He's proven that he's open the bat in, score hundreds and he'll finish games off. So they've got a wealth of options.

We talked about Jax earlier. You've talked about Rey and Ahmed, but you've actually talked to Rey and Ahmed. Artif Noirs. Let's hear what he had to say.

I'm with a very sweaty rean Ahmed Reyan. Your first match in a World cup and was pretty dramatic. Talk me through how you were feeling when you walked out to the middle.

I felt quite calm. You know, I think obviously the way the situation was and the way I was given the opportunity on something that's a bit more spin friendly. Yeah, I felt. I felt easy. We did a lot of training yesterday on similar wicket and yeah, I backed myself to take a Couple of sixes straight and thankfully I got them.

Your range hitting is like incredibly impressive. I'm thinking back to that range hitting competition, the six hitting competition you won in Pakistan a few years ago. Is this something a part of your game you've already worked on just hitting sixes?

I think I just enjoy it more, so that's why I end up doing it more. But. But, yeah, no, absolutely. I think it's very vital, especially the number I'm going to bat is to be able to clear the rope when the pressure's on. So thankfully I got. I got two of them today.

Now talk me through that. At the moment you're walking out to the middle to bat. It looked like an impossible situation. We're on commentary thinking New Zealand have got this more or less in hand. You're walking out there. What's going through your mind when you look at the equation?

I just. I'll just say, well, I was just thinking, hit four sixes here. I wasn't thinking anything more. I think we're four sixes behind, four balls behind. And with Jaxy out there, it was very, very possible. You know, we go, he had it. I hit Phillips for one and then he finished the over off very well. So, yeah, yeah, it was great.

Now, you know, we've seen a lot of batters struggle to get going on this pitch today from both teams and actually all the way through the competition. How did you find sort of the pitch as you went in there, coming in cold your first game as well? How did you find it out in the middle?

It was good, I think, obviously back to the 100. We played on the exact same wickets of this at the Rockets, so it wasn't too unfamiliar for me. And we've been training on similar wickets too. So it was just about if it's not going to spin if you're right next to the ball. So, yeah, just getting to the ball and trying to take it.

What's the vibe like with the England side right now because you've strung together a sequence of wins going into the semi final. Lots of confidence, lots of momentum.

Yeah, no, exactly. I think the way we started the comp, we just found ways to win and that was very, very important for us. Obviously, we'll bite your hand off to be in the position we are now, if you told us at the start of the comp. So it was nice to get a win, another niggly ish win on a slower wicket. But yeah, upwards on from the semis and the finals, hopefully it felt like

the most complete performance from an England side in this competition. Would you read it the same way?

I think whenever you win, it's a complete performance. So we found a way to win every single time. So, yeah, I think we always complete, especially as long as we're winning.

It was thrilling to watch from up in the commentary box. Go get yourself a drink, Rayon, because you're dripping with sweat already. But very well done. Again, amazing batting, superb to watch. Thank you so much.

Thank you.

That was rare. Ahmed with artifacts. He sounded like a very, very happy young man. As England win three out of three in the Super 8. It has to be said we do need to provide balance here, that this is a group of the four teams that came second in the first round and the other group is the four teams that came first. It's slightly lopsided way the groups have worked out on this occasion, so there probably will be stiffer tests, but New Zealand is quite the test. And if you're listening earlier and you were screaming at Mitchell, whoever it was that was saying New Zealand were unbeaten. No, they're not unbeaten. They did lose to South Africa earlier on in the competition by 17 balls. A standout team. But it looks like England are going to avoid South Africa by having finished top. South Africa look likely to finish top in their group and will most likely play West Indies or India, who have sort of what looks like a straight shootout, almost quarterfinal. That's that group. But this group has now been given, well, it's given Pakistan a lifeline today. Artif Nawaz, you have been crunching the numbers. You put on your white lab coat. You've got out the big. The big whiteboard and you've been doing equations. What is the situation? What do Pakistan need to do to come second in this group and to keep us in Colombo?

So Pakistan will need to beat Sri Lanka by either 64 runs or chase whatever target is set set of them in 13.1 overs to qualify for the semi finals. So it's quite steep either way, but at least they know exactly what it is they have to do, whether they're batting or bowling first. I think it should make their team selection pretty straightforward. I'd like to see him see some really bold selections tomorrow and play some, you know.

What do you mean by that? Who are you thinking?

I'm not. All I'm thinking is I'd like for them to pick the 11 players who are most likely to either bowl out the opposition for a below par total or chase the runs down as quickly as possible. Ideally, a bit of both. Get that balance exactly right. You know, you're playing Sri Lanka and Candy. We've seen Sri Lanka successful in Candy. We saw them beat the mighty Australians in Kandy. Well, you know, theoretically mighty Australians in Kandy, you know, so it's not going to be a walk in the park. They're not just going to, you know, crumble in front of Pakistan. They are out, but they are out to the play for.

They got less to play for. But they've got more freedom.

They do. Well, yes, they do have more freedom and they will have their home fans who'll still turn up in big number to watch that game. There's context to that game now. I'm really pleased because obviously we've got a four hour drive there and a four hour drive back tomorrow. So there's something on that game which makes it a lot more of a, you know, it makes the drive feel more.

Oh, it's going to be fun.

We're have a great time.

It's going to be fun. And we will. If you're listening to us tomorrow, which of course I'm sure you will be, you should be, we will be banging on about that equation time and time and time again. It's not going to be a normal T20 international at all. It's all going to be about when, if Pakistan can win in the right amount of times. No point in them winning by 50 runs. That won't help them at all.

Nope.

At all. There's no point in chasing it down in 13.5 overs. That won't help at all. So it could be very dramatic. It could be very exciting to watch and I hope to listen to just a reminder today, England have won three out of three. Top of the table. They're going to go to a semifinal, almost certainly in Mumbai. That side of the equation is sorted. We've got a really big one tomorrow. It's been Will Jackson's day, It's been Rayan Ahmed's day. Who's turned up? Cherubic faced first game, picks up two for a wicket with his very first ball. A six with his second ball takes his side to victory in a partnership of 44 off 16 balls with Will Jacks. It was really, really thrilling stuff thanks to Artis Nawaza and Alex Hartley. That's it from us here at the R Prebadassa Stadium. And then on Saturday we'll make that trip to Kandy to see if Pakistan can sneak into the semi finals against Sri Lanka and break Kiwi hearts. That starts at 1:30 UK time. Make sure you're subscribed to the TMS podcast so you never miss an episode. Thanks for listening. We'll speak to you next time.

The TMS podcast from BBC Radio 5 live.

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