If you had one shot, one opportunity: Will Jacks turns spin shady

When Will Jacks walked in at No. 7, were his palms sweaty, knees weak, arms heavy? With England precariously placed at 105 for 5 and looking at an under-par finish, you wouldn't be surprised if he was feeling the heat being meted out by the Italy bowlers.

But in the company of Sam Curran and Jamie Overton, Jacks produced his best T20I batting performance in England colours. His 21-ball fifty turned out to be England's fastest in T20 World Cup history and the difference as they reached 202 in 20 overs.

Nicknamed Slim Shady in this T20 World Cup by some team-mates with his new-look, bleach-blonde hair resembling Eminem's, Jacks turned spin shady in the 16th over by going 4, 6, 6 against Ben Manenti. The 20-run over turned the tide as England added 43 more in the next three overs. And then Jacks once again launched Grant Stewart for two sixes in the 20th, both through midwicket, to take another 15. The assault ensured England eventually won by 24 runs, despite some hiccups while bowling.

Jacks has had to adjust to life at No. 7 after bursting through the ranks as a top-order batter. Coming below Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Tom Banton and occasionally Sam Curran in this allrounder-heavy England XI, he found himself balancing the urge to attack from ball one with the responsibility of dragging England to a competitive total with a top-order misfiring yet again.

This was the third time he had to do it, after his unbeaten cameos of 39 off 18 and 16 off 10 against Nepal and Scotland respectively. This time the message from the middle and the game he developed as a top-order batter made his decision making easier.

"The chat coming back from the guys who'd been in the middle is that it was a very good surface," Jacks said in the post-match press conference. "We know normally here at Eden Gardens it's a batting-favoured track and obviously the outfield is incredibly quick. You need high scores. So going out, I knew I had to keep being positive and show that intent.

"Opening is something I've done for 7-8 years," Jacks explained. "So having two fielders out, your options are you don't have to take as high risks but now I know I'm not going to have much time to get myself in. And therefore I just need to be playing based on what the situation requires."

Jacks' innings of four sixes and three fours at a strike-rate of 240.90 also required moments where he had to stay true to himself. His counterattack against Ben Manenti was the clearest expression of that, and he was especially proud of it.

"Sometimes if I go in on the 13th or14th over, I tell myself I have time, and then I go away from my natural game," Jacks said. "Now I'm having to remind myself that no matter where I'm batting, I still want to be positive early on. And then that's when I'm at my best.

"One thing we can take from the Italians today is everyone who came out, they were on it from ball one and they were incredibly positive. I felt like I had to be completely on the mark or I was going to be out."

About his batting process with respect to his entry position, he said the basics were largely the same, "first looking for an early boundary and then adjusting." He also said that he didn't have a set total in mind.

"I'm not personally one who looks at a target score," Jacks said. "It gets a bit confusing in my mind and I just like to keep it simple and focus on the one ball ahead of me. When I got out there I just wanted to be busy and if something was in my area, no matter if it's my second ball or tenth ball, just be positive and go after it."

Despite cricket being a team game and England needing their bowlers to ensure there were no slip ups, Jacks allowed himself a bit of time to reflect on what he'd finally achieved.

"To make a mark on the game is something I haven't done enough of in my T20 career," he admitted. "I've played a lot of games now, and that was my first fifty today. There've been a lot of games and many tours where I've not been happy with my performance and I've not been living up to my own expectations and not doing what I want for the team."

On a night when England needed the real Will Jacks to please stand up, he came up with a landmark performance reminding everybody about that one Eminem mantra: you only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow. This opportunity comes once in a lifetime.