New Zealand vs England: T20 World Cup 2026 report, result, highlights as Jacks calls Ahmed ‘brilliant’ after thrilling win

Will Jacks said he was “absolutely buzzing” after the Player of the Match’s partnership with Rehan Ahmed sealed a four-wicket England victory over New Zealand with three balls to spare at the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 at Colombo’s R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium.

Already assured of a place in the semi-finals, England seemed set for defeat until Jacks and Ahmed both hit sixes as part of a combined 21 runs from five balls, leading to their fifth straight win.

Buoyant England are likely to next play in Mumbai on Thursday, while New Zealand face a nervy wait to seal their progress and must hope Pakistan do not comprehensively beat Sri Lanka on Saturday.

New Zealand vs England analysis: Jacks and Ahmed shine

Jacks took the individual award for the fourth time at the finals and registered 2-23 as England hit top gear and bowled an unprecedented 16 overs of spin.

“I’m over the moon to be not out at the end in a tight finish when the game was on a knife edge when I went in,” said Jacks, who was 32 not out alongside Ahmed’s unbeaten 19 from seven balls.

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“It’s about keeping it simple. Rehan played a brilliant innings. Everyone who came out on that pitch struggled and it took time to get the pace of it with how slow it was.”

Jacks and Ahmed posted a total of 44 runs from 16 balls. Ahmed took a wicket with his first delivery and swiftly smashed sixes off Glenn Phillips and Mitchell Santner to put victory firmly within England’s reach from an unpromising position.

“That six he hit second ball off Glenn Phillips just upped the ante and put [New Zealand] on the back foot,” observed Jacks.

“I was then able to just play off him there. The game was laid out there for us with the field and the conditions, so we tried to utilise that.”

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T20 World Cup: Will England win the tournament?

England could face India in a blockbuster final-four match and have concerns including the form of Jos Buttler, who departed for a duck and has not hit double figures for five matches.

“There’s been a lot said about Jos,” pointed out captain Harry Brook. “He’s played 150 games for England and people need to take a little step back.

“He’s probably the best white-ball player to play the game. He’s in a rut but it’s exciting to know what he could produce in the next few games.

“He’s got fire in his belly and wants to show people what he’s made of. He’s a phenomenal player and I’ve no doubt he’ll go out and do well.”

Jacks’ sustained impact could prove vital and the 27-year-old says England are “going in the right direction”.

“I feel really confident right now,” Jacks added. “I feel calm in the middle and that is another string to the bow – it can be more important than anything.”

Mitchell Santner: England ‘turned game’ on New Zealand

New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner voiced his admiration for Jacks and Ahmed’s “finishing touches”. “It would have made our lives easier if we’d won,” he reflected.

“We played a pretty good game. There are moments with bat and ball that turned the game on us, but credit to England and how they played.

“We set up a good platform to target the last few overs then lost a few wickets to only scrape to 160. It could have easily been 170.

“At the end, they need 40 off three and the way they took down the offence was good batting.”

New Zealand vs England teams

New Zealand: Tim Seifert (wk), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner (c), Cole McConchie, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson

England: Tom Banton, Jos Buttler (wk), Philip Salt, Jacob Bethell, Will Jacks, Harry Brook (c), Liam Dawson, Sam Curran, Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid

What’s next for these teams? New Zealand, England T20 cricket World Cup fixtures

Should they reach the semi-finals, New Zealand’s likeliest opponents are South Africa on Wednesday or Thursday.

Their potential match will be in Kolkata, Colombo or Mumbai, with England also set to discover which of those settings they will play in on either of those days at 13:30 GMT.

New Zealand ICC T20 World Cup 2026 squad

Mitchell Santner (c), Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway (wk), Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Cole McConchie, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi

England ICC T20 World Cup 2026 squad

Harry Brook (c), Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton (wk), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Jamie Overton, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Ben Duckett, Luke Wood, Josh Tongue, Rehan Ahmed.

How to watch the T20 World Cup: TV channel, live online stream

The T20 World Cup is being shown exclusively live in the UK on Sky Sports.

You can stream it on a vast variety of devices and on the move via the Sky Go app. 

For coverage elsewhere in the world, click HERE for details of your local rights holder.