There’s never a dull moment when England and Australia are involved and this time, it’s off the field where the sparks are flying.
England’s rising star Jacob Bethell has shared his honest reaction to Australia’s early exit from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 and his comments are sure to grab attention. Jacob Bethell, who has impressed with the bat during the 2025-26 Ashes series and continued his fine form in the T20 World Cup, admitted he wasn’t too upset to see their rivals knocked out.
In a video posted on X, Jacob Bethell was asked about Australia’s departure from the tournament. He responded, “It was good to see. They just didn’t seem like they got firing in the tournament. And in those group stage matches if you don’t hit the ground running, you’re in danger of that happening. So yeah, it was a shame for them.”
Here is the video clip:
https://x.com/bbctms/status/2024843078251798964
Click to watch this video directly on X
Australia, the 2021 T20 World Cup winners, had started their campaign strongly. They defeated Ireland by 67 runs in Colombo on February 11. However, things quickly went downhill. In their next two Group B matches, they suffered surprising defeats, losing to Zimbabwe by 23 runs and then to Sri Lanka by eight wickets.
After back-to-back losses, Australia’s hopes depended on other results. But when Zimbabwe’s match against Ireland in Kandy on February 17 was washed out due to rain, Australia were officially eliminated from the tournament.
Meanwhile, England have quietly built momentum. Led by Harry Brook, they finished second in Group C with three wins from four matches. They edged past Nepal by four runs at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on February 8, lost to West Indies in their second game and then bounced back with wins over Scotland and Italy to reach the Super 8s.
England now face Sri Lanka in Kandy, followed by Pakistan on February 24 at the same venue. Their final Super 8s clash will be against New Zealand at R. Premadasa Stadium on February 27 with Jacob Bethell and company aiming to keep their campaign alive.
