\n<\/p>\n
At this World Cup, they have scrambled an escape against Nepal<\/a>, scraped past Scotland<\/a> and Italy<\/a> when the walls threatened to crumble in, and beat Sri Lanka with one of the great one-man shows<\/a>.<\/p>\n It is a welcome change for a side that squandered any chances they did create in Australia.<\/p>\n “If you can get yourself out of some tricky positions and end up winning games it does wonders for your confidence,” Jacks said.<\/p>\n “There’s no better team than one that fights and finds a way of winning.”<\/p>\n This is not to say England have been perfect by any means \u2013 nor that everything that has come this winter is forgotten. <\/p>\n There remains no certainty that McCullum will be in charge come the summer, even after this run to the last four.<\/p>\n The Test victory in Hyderabad last year, which was followed by four heavy defeats, also shows one should never get too carried away.<\/p>\n And Harry Brook’s men now leave Sri Lanka – a country that has provided a sanctuary for over the past weeks and returned six T20 wins from six – for India and the semi-finals.<\/p>\n There they could meet the co-hosts or West Indies or South Africa – this tournament’s three most-feared teams. There are only so many times you can go back to the well.<\/p>\n “Everyone knows about India and the storyline that brings,” Jacks said.<\/p>\n “It could also be West Indies and they have beaten us in Mumbai.<\/p>\n “We know how tricky that will be. We will watching that game on Sunday. We will be prepared. We go in with optimism.”<\/p>\n It is that optimism that has been drained over the recent months. For many it will, quite rightly, take months to come back.<\/p>\n Jacks, though, spoke with a glint in his eye \u2013 the look of a side starting to believe in themselves again – and dismissed concerns over the lack of straightforward wins.<\/p>\n “We’ve won six out of seven games and we’ve qualified for a semi-final,” he said.<\/p>\n “At the end of the day, no-one really cares. We obviously want to play well in them but we’re not gutted we haven’t played a perfect game.<\/p>\n “That’s T20 cricket.<\/p>\n “What we’ve done well is the key moments – we’ve kept a calm and clear head and we’ve managed to get those rewards.”<\/p>\n For now it is working. It is a welcome flash back to the good times.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n