Cricket news: Brilliant Brook takes England into the semi-finals after incredible century

England defeated Pakistan by two wickets on Tuesday, February 24, to seal a semi-final spot in the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup. 

Sports News Blitz writer Dejan Johal reviews the match and what this result now means for both teams. 

Pre-match line-ups and coin toss 

England went into this game unchanged after their incredible comeback victory against Sri Lanka. 

Pakistan, meanwhile, made one change to their side, with Faheem Ashraff making way for Shaheen Shah Afridi. 

After their first Super 8 match against New Zealand was rained off, it felt like Pakistan needed to win this game to keep themselves in the race for qualification to the semi-finals. 

They did start off well as captain Salman Agha won the toss and elected to bat first in Pallekele, Sri Lanka. 

First innings 

Despite winning the toss on a decent batting surface, Pakistan got off to a terrible start, as opener Saim Ayub and captain Agha were both dismissed inside the powerplay, allowing England to gain control of the contest. 

Even with the poor start, Pakistan’s saviour throughout this tournament clutched up again, as Sahibzada Farhan continued his great form, adding another fifty to his name. 

Eventually, Farhan was dismissed for 63 from 45 deliveries, with Jamie Overton trapping him in front in the 16th over. 

England had done well restricting the Pakistan players from scoring freely, as they could only get to 164 after their 20 overs, whilst also losing nine wickets. 

The wickets were shared amongst the England bowlers, with Jofra Archer and Jamie Overton both picking up two wickets. 

However, the pick of the bowlers for England was Liam Dawson. He took three wickets for only 24 runs in his four overs.

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Second innings

Pakistan bringing back Shaheen Afridi was a gamble, since the left-arm pacer has struggled in this tournament to make a real impact.

However, the gamble paid off, as he dismissed Phil Salt off the first ball of the innings and then Jos Buttler shortly after, getting Pakistan off to a flying start. 

He then dismissed Jacob Bethell to take his third inside the powerplay, and after Tom Banton had gotten out to Usman Tariq in the eighth over, Pakistan were definitely in the driver’s seat. 

England certainly weren’t giving up, however, as captain Harry Brook brought up his 50 off of only 28 deliveries to keep his side in the fight. 

He was also aided by Will Jacks, who struck a couple of hefty blows to edge England closer to their target. 

But it was also about the England captain, as Brook hit a six and a four to bring up a magnificent century off only 50 deliveries. 

Brook was bowled the delivery after. However, the damage had been done as England won the game by two wickets despite a late slip-up. 

What does this result mean for both teams? 

So this victory means that England become the first team to qualify for the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup. 

It hasn’t been easy for some of their players. However, they have done the job and will be full of confidence going into the final act of this tournament. 

Meanwhile, for Pakistan, this loss means they are still without a win in the Super 8’s, and now their next match against Sri Lanka is a must-win. 

Despite some great performances from certain players, Pakistan now find themselves on the brink of exiting this tournament, making this next game a must-watch.

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