England hope to avoid slip-up against Italy

England and Italy face off in Group C with their campaigns at different stages but both still evolving. England have moved up to second in the table after a much-needed win over Scotland, while Italy arrive encouraged by their breakthrough victory against Nepal. As the group begins to tighten, this contest offers England a chance to strengthen their position, and Italy another shot at testing themselves against an established opposition.

England's tournament has been anything but smooth. They were pushed hard by Nepal and then fell short against West Indies before recovering with a composed chase against Scotland. The win offered signs of improvement, particularly in how they managed a moderate target after early setbacks, but there remain areas to tighten, especially with the bat at the top of the order. With qualification equations starting to take shape, England will aim for a more complete performance rather than another stop-start outing.

Italy, meanwhile, have shown encouraging signs for a side still finding its feet at this level. After a heavy defeat in their opener, they responded impressively by outplaying Nepal for their first World Cup win, underlining both discipline with the ball and confidence at the top of the order. The challenge now is translating that belief against a much stronger side. With momentum and freedom on their side, Italy will hope to spring another surprise and draw inspiration from the way European sides have disrupted bigger teams in past tournaments.

When: Monday, February 16 at 3:00 PM Local Time

Where: Match 29, Eden Gardens, Kolkata

What to expect: The two 3 PM games at this venue so far have produced contrasting results, with West Indies defending 182 against Scotland and England successfully chasing 152 against the same opposition. Scotland's commanding 207, meanwhile, came in an 11 AM start during their comfortable win over Italy. Going by the trend, anything above 180 could prove a challenging target for the side batting second.

Team News:

England: Harry Brook's side have played the same eleven for the last two games, with Jamie Overton getting the nod over Luke Wood. They are likely to stick to the same combination.

Probable XI: Philip Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Harry Brook (c), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Jamie Overton, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid

Italy: A few days back, skipper Wayne Madsen, who had dislocated his shoulder during the game against Scotland, said he was optimistic of taking further part in this World Cup. Speaking to BBC Radio Derby, he said he was "fairly positive" that "it's just a case of managing it now over the next 48-72 hours and it's already improved." Should he be fit, Marcus Campopiano could make way.

Probable XI: Anthony Mosca, Justin Mosca, JJ Smuts, Harry Manenti (c), Ben Manenti, Marcus Campopiano/Wayne Madsen, Grant Stewart, Gian Meade (wk), Jaspreet Singh, Crishan Kalugamage, Ali Hasan

What they said:

"Unfortunately they haven't quite fired yet, but I don't think that's a bad thing, I think there's a long way to go in this tournament and if they get firing at the right time then we'll be in a really good place. We'd rather not start amazing and finish amazing than start amazing and finish bad" - Harry Brook, England captain, on the openers Phil Salt and Jos Buttler.

"A win against Nepal doesn't change anything that we believe. We came into this game knowing that we can win, and we did that. It's great for our confidence, but it doesn't change where we're at. Playing every game we get is obviously an opportunity to show the world what we've got, but also spend time with each other. And every time I get to play with those 10 boys, those 14 boys around me, is an opportunity I don't take lightly and I look forward to playing the next one in a few days' time against England" - Harry Manenti, after the win against Nepal.