Rehan Ahmed revealed that England head coach Brendon McCullum told him to ‘bat like Sehwag’ before he helped the side defeat New Zealand in the T20 World Cup Super 8s. The 21-year-old leg-spinner marked his World Cup debut with two wickets, but it was his batting that stole the show.
England needed 43 runs from the last 19 balls when Rehan arrived at the crease. He and Will Jacks added an unbroken 44 off 16 balls to seal a four-wicket victory in Colombo, taking England top of their group with three wins from three.
McCullum relayed the instruction via walkie-talkie from the balcony to Rehan, who was sitting pitch-side. “Baz actually sent one of the walkie talkie messages downstairs, saying ‘tell Reh to bat like Sehwag’,” Rehan said. “I was trying to play that certain way.”
Jacks, who took two wickets with his part-time off-spin and scored a rapid cameo, collected his fourth player of the match award of the tournament. The all-rounder said the team's ability to stay calm in key moments has been crucial.
England will likely face India or West Indies in the semi-finals in Mumbai on Thursday. Captain Jos Buttler has struggled for form with only 15 runs in his last five innings, but Jacks backed him to deliver in knockout cricket, saying “form means nothing”.
