Harry Brook hails Jacks of all trades as Will inspires England win

Harry Brook paid tribute to England’s “Jack of all trades” at the T20 World Cup after they continued their stranglehold over Sri Lanka in Pallekele.

Will Jacks was one of only two England batters to go past 20 as England once again underwhelmed with the bat, amassing what seemed a subpar 146 for nine largely thanks to Phil Salt’s 62 from 40 balls.

Having made 21 off 14 deliveries, Jacks opened the bowling for just the third time in his England career and first since being clubbed for 22 in an over against Australia at the 2024 tournament in the Caribbean.

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But he bowled four overs in a row, claiming three for 22, as Sri Lanka lurched to 34 for five on a tacky pitch before England claimed a 51-run victory at the start of their Super 8 campaign.

Jacks has been England’s standout in the tournament, with his lower-order contributions against Nepal and Italy proving instrumental, and Brook is delighted at how the all-rounder is performing.

“He is a very competitive lad,” Brook said. “He was annoyed when he got out. After his first over he said ‘I always bowl better when I’m annoyed’. That was one of the reasons I kept him on.

“He is that perfect player. He is the Jack of all trades who can do everything. He is awesome in the field and with the bat and like we saw here, very good with the ball. He started us off beautifully.”

Having scraped through the first group stage in India, Brook wanted his side to turn over a new leaf in Sri Lanka, whom they recently defeated 3-0 in a T20 warm-up series at this venue.

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But a 12th consecutive T20 win over the tournament co-hosts was also inspired by Salt propping up England after more top-order woes, including from Jos Buttler, who made a tortured seven off 14 balls for his third successive single-figure score.

“That 60 has won us the game, really,” Brook said of Salt. “He wasn’t as destructive and fluent as he can be but he’s played the situation perfectly there.

“We knew that we were slightly under par. But the bowling was just phenomenal. We’ve had a lot of experience here, playing three games against Sri Lanka, and the main message was the belief.

“The other message was to go out and fight, and fight we did.”

Jofra Archer started the rot by dismissing Pathum Nissanka, whose swashbuckling unbeaten century effectively knocked Australia out at the first hurdle last week, and Sri Lanka collapsed alarmingly.

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Adil Rashid and Liam Dawson exploited conditions to collect two wickets apiece as Sri Lanka were all out for 95 in 16.4 overs, meaning a win against either Pakistan on Tuesday or New Zealand on Friday should seal a semi-final spot for England.

“We still haven’t had that perfect game,” Brook said. “With the bat we haven’t managed to get the starts and the big scores we’d like. But I think that’s quite an exciting prospect.

“I see that as something coming very soon and the likes of Jos Buttler not coming off, Jacob Bethell, myself, Tom Banton, not getting big scores, and we are still managing to get over the line and getting the job done is awesome.

“Hopefully those rewards will come a little bit later down the line.”