T20 World Cup: ‘Baz said play like Sehwag’ – England’s win over New Zealand felt like the good times
In this World Cup they have made an escape against Nepal, got past Scotland and Italy when the walls were in danger of collapsing and beat Sri Lanka in one of the great one-man shows.
It’s a welcome change for a side that squandered the chances it created in Australia.
“If you can get yourself out of some tough positions and manage to win games, it does wonders for your confidence,” Jacks said.
“There is no better team than a team that fights and finds a way to win.”
This doesn’t mean England is perfect by any means, or that everything that’s come this winter has been forgotten.
Even after this run to the last four, there is no certainty that McCullum will be in charge in the summer.
Last year’s Test victory in Hyderabad, which was followed by four heavy defeats, also shows that one should never get carried away.
And Harry Brook’s men now leave India and Sri Lanka, who have provided shelter in recent weeks for the semi-finals and returned six of their six T20 wins.
There they can meet the co-hosts or the West Indies or South Africa, the three most feared teams of this tournament. You can only go back to the well so many times.
“Everyone knows India and the story it brings,” Jacks said.
“West Indies might as well and they beat us in Mumbai.
“We know how difficult this will be. We will watch that game on Sunday. We will be prepared. We will go in with optimism.”
It is this optimism that has been depleted in recent months. For many, it will rightfully take months to come back.
But the Jacks spoke with a twinkle in their eye – the look of a team starting to believe in themselves again – and ignored concerns about the lack of straight wins.
“We won six out of seven matches and advanced to the semi-finals,” he said.
“At the end of the day, no one cares. Of course we want to play well in this match, but we are heartbroken, we did not play a perfect game.
“This is T20 cricket.
“What we did well were the key moments; we kept a calm and clear head and managed to get those rewards.”
It’s working for now. It’s a welcome throwback to good times.
