Brendon McCullum Tips Rehan Ahmed To Bat Like Virender Sehwag For NZ Heroics

England secured a semi-final berth after defeating New Zealand by four wickets in the Super 8 stage as Will Jacks reveals Rehan Ahmed secret from Brendon McCullum.

England sealed their place in the semi-finals of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup with a four-wicket win over New Zealand national cricket team in their final Group 2 Super 8 match in India and Sri Lanka.

New Zealand posted 159 for 7, with Rehan Ahmed, Adil Rashid and Will Jacks picking up two wickets each. England chased down the target with three balls to spare and four wickets in hand.

At one stage, England needed 43 runs from the final 20 balls. Rehan turned the game with a quick 19 off just seven deliveries. After the match, he revealed the advice he received from head coach Brendon McCullum before going out to bat.

“Baz actually sent one of the walkie talkie messages downstairs, saying ‘tell Reh to bat like Sehwag’,” he revealed. McCullum had urged him to follow the fearless approach of Indian great Virender Sehwag.

Jacks, who won the Player of the Match award, praised captain Harry Brook for shaping the team’s identity.

“This group is the era of Harry Brook as white-ball captain,” Jacks said. “He has got us to play a certain way and the environment around the group is absolutely brilliant.

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“Hopefully everyone can see we are having fun and are approaching the game in the right way.”

England began their campaign with a narrow win over Nepal and suffered a defeat to the West Indies in their second match. They then qualified for the Super 8 with victories over Scotland and Italy.

In the Super 8 stage, England maintained a perfect record. They defeated Sri Lanka, Pakistan and New Zealand to enter the semi-finals with five consecutive wins. “If you can get yourself out of some tricky positions and end up winning games it does wonders for your confidence,” Jacks said.

“There’s no better team than one that fights and finds a way of winning.” England could face India, South Africa or the West Indies in the semi-final. Jacks spoke about the challenges each opponent would bring.

“Everyone knows about India and the storyline that brings,” Jacks said. “It could also be West Indies and they have beaten us in Mumbai. “We know how tricky that will be. We will watching that game on Sunday. We will be prepared. We go in with optimism.”