T20 World Cup 2026 – England opt to bat in bid to seal Super Eights spot, both teams unchanged

Toss England chose to bat first vs Italy

England chose to bat first against Italy on Monday afternoon in Kolkata after winning their fourth successive toss. They will seal their qualification for the second phase of the T20 World Cup if they win.

It means an opportunity for their batting line-up to fully click for the first time since they arrived in India, after an unconvincing start to the World Cup. Asked whether England had played their best cricket yet, captain Harry Brook smiled and said: “I think everybody knows that we haven’t, but we’ve managed to scrape through.”

They are unchanged from the team that beat Scotland on Saturday, with Jamie Overton retained as the third seamer ahead of Luke Wood. Brook called on his team to be “fearless” and explained his decision to bat first by saying: “There isn’t much in it stats-wise, we just fancy having a bat today.”

Italy, fresh from their remarkable ten-wicket win over Nepal in Mumbai, were happy to bowl first, which stand-in captain Harry Manenti said was the plan all along. Manenti said that his team has calmed back down after the elation of that victory, Italy’s first at a T20 World Cup.

“The vibes have been excellent. Everyone has been up and about… Coming off a win gives us a bit of confidence,” he said, while confirming an unchanged team.

Wayne Madsen remains sidelined with the dislocated shoulder that he sustained while fielding against Scotland in Italy’s opening match, but is targeting their final group game. “He’s tracking well,” Manenti said. “He’s going to try again in a few days against West Indies, so fingers crossed.”

Italy can still qualify for the Super Eights if they win their final two group games, but would need to overcome both England and West Indies.

England: 1 Phil Salt, 2 Jos Buttler (wk), 3 Jacob Bethell, 4 Tom Banton, 5 Harry Brook (capt), 6 Sam Curran, 7 Will Jacks, 8 Jamie Overton, 9 Liam Dawson, 10 Jofra Archer, 11 Adil Rashid.

Italy: 1 AJ Mosca, 2 Justin Mosca, 3 JJ Smuts, 4 Harry Manenti (capt), 5 Ben Manenti, 6 Grant Stewart, 7 Marcus Campopiano, 8 Gian-Piero Meade (wk), 9 Jaspreet Singh, 10 Crishan Kalugamage, 11 Ali Hasan.

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