England v Pakistan Prediction: Will Will do it again?

| Monday 23rd February 2026, 16:24pm

Monday 23rd February 2026, 16:24pm

Jamie Pacheco previews England’s second Super 8 stage match of the T20 World Cup against Pakistan starting 13:30 on Tuesday, February 24 and live on Sky Sports Main Event.

Jamie is hoping for a Pakistan batting collapse that could open the door to some big-priced middle-order players and thinks that man Will Jacks can go well with the ball again.

EnglEngland vs Pakistan Betting Tips

0.5pts Back Will Jacks to be England Top Bowler@ 13/2
0.25pts Back Usman Khan to be Pakistan Top Batsman @ 15/2
0.25pts Back Shadab Khan to be Pakistan Top batsman @ 14/1

*odds correct at time of publication

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England

I mentioned in the preview ahead of their game against Sri Lanka that some wins under pressure in the Group Stages will have done them a load of good good when it came to the biggest matches, and so it proved.

England’s total, mostly thanks to Phil Salt’s 62, was probably a bit better than it first looked and they certainly went about defending it in the best possible way. Will Jacks, a contender for Player of the Tournament, never mind England’s best player at this Tournament, opened the bowling and ended up taking 3/22 for yet another Player of the Match award, remarkably his third in five matches, also helped by a brisk 21 with the bat.

But Jofra Archer, Liam Dawson and Adil Rashid all played their part too.

They may not have looked like it at various stages of this competition, but they’re probably just one win away from making the semis and then, who knows? With India losing on Sunday, they may have an easier semi-final opponent than they would have thought, though they’ll be keen to avoid South Africa in the last four.

England Likely XI

1. Buttler 2. Salt 3. Bethell 4. Brook 5. Banton 6. Sam Curran 7. Jacks 8. Dawson 9. Overton 10. Archer 11. Rashid

*Odds correct as of the time of publication

Pakistan

It’s been something of a chaotic tournament for Pakistan so far. A nervy win over the Netherlands, comfortable wins over USA and Namibia, a thrashing at the hands of India and a washed-out game against New Zealand are what’s happened so far.

Then again, this is Pakistan so we shouldn’t expect anything different.

Sahibzada Farhan has been good with the bat at the top of the order while Usman Tariq, the controversial spinner with the controversial action has taken eight wickets. Eight different players have taken at least one wicket, proof that they’ve got plenty of options with the ball, especially in the spin department.

Shaheen Shah Afridi has been poor and was left out of the last two matches; that’s likely to happen here again.

Pakistan Likely XI

Farhan, Ayub, Agha, Babar, Zaman, Usman, Shadab, Nawaz, Ashraf, Mirza, Tariq.

*Odds correct as of the time of publication

Pitch and conditions

We’re at Pallekele for this one.

We’ve seen plenty of cricket played here over the last month or so, what with England playing a three-match T20I Series here against Sri Lanka before the WC and some matches here as part of the WC, including that win over Sri Lanka on Sunday.

But each time the wicket and conditions are a bit different so 170 could sometimes be chaseable, other days 150 might be enough, as shown in England’s win against Dasun Shanka’s men at the weekend.

What we do know is that heat and humidity will play less of a part than it did in that match – Phil Salt was absolutely spent after batting for 14 overs - because it’s a night match.

England may well want to bat again if they win the toss.

Match Winner odds

England are 4/6 with Pakistan 6/5.

That’s not a bad price on England, who have found a way to win from different potentially losing positions. Pakistan, as we know, are never too far away from a horror show.

But without knowing too much about what sort of wicket we might get here, there’s a little too much guesswork involved, and we’ll leave it alone.

England Top Bowler

Will Jacks can’t do it again, can he? Or can he?

In truth, it’s been more about his all-round performances than shining just with the ball so far, but his 3/22 was enough to be the top England bowler the other day.

On the same track, he may be used in exactly the same way again: opening the bowling and given four overs on the trot. Don’t underestimate how high his confidence is at the moment and that alone, can do wonders.

Also, bear in mind that England didn’t bother to give Sam Curran a bowl the other day, so a) Jacks may only have four men to beat and b) he may well get four overs again. 13/2, with a dead-heat on our minds, is worth taking.

England vs Pakistan - Top Home Team Bowler

Jacks, W

13/2

Bet Here

Odds correct at time of publishing.

Pakistan Top Batsman

Pakistan’s top order collapse against India opened the door to some big-priced players in the middle-order. In the ed it was Usman Khan who was the only one to show composure and discipline in putting a score together.

A repeat of that is by no means out of the question against a good bowling attack on what could be a tricky track to bat on.

So we’ll go with small bets on Usman (15/2) and Shadab Khan (14/1), who could well both bat in positions 4/6 and might give us a decent chance at big prices.

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