Two-time champions England secured a hard-fought four-wicket win over New Zealand in a crucial Super Eights clash of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at the R Premadasa Stadium on Friday.

New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner’s decision to bat first backfired as they could muster 159/7 in their allotted 20 overs against a spin-heavy England bowling attack.

Middle-order batter Glenn Phillips remained the top-scorer for New Zealand with a 28-ball 39, followed by openers Tim Seifert and Finn Allen, who made 35 and 29, respectively.

For England, Will Jacks, Adil Rashid and Rehan Ahmed bagged two wickets each, while Liam Dawson chipped in with one.

In turn, England chased down the 160-run target for the loss of six wickets and three balls to spare, courtesy of a quickfire 44-run unbeaten partnership for the seventh wicket between Jacks and Rehan.

Jacks made an unbeaten 32 off just 18 deliveries, smashing four fours and a six, while Rehan scored 19 not out from seven balls with the help of two sixes and a four.

Rachin Ravindra was the pick of the bowlers for New Zealand, taking three wickets for just 19 runs in his four overs, while Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson and Phillips could bag one apiece.

England’s victory put New Zealand’s hopes of semi-final qualification on hold, besides keeping Pakistan in contention, who next face co-hosts Sri Lanka in the last Group 2 Super Eights match of the T20 World Cup 2026 in Kandy on Saturday.

Pakistan, placed third in Group 2 standings with one point in two matches, now need to beat Sri Lanka by around 65 runs or chase down the target in 13.1 overs to better New Zealand’s net run rate of 1.390.

The Green Shirts’ net run rate, however, currently stands at a negative 0.461, and if they fail to beat Sri Lanka by a substantial margin, New Zealand would join England in qualifying for the semi-finals from Group 2.

Bobby J. Brown, who was best known for playing a Baltimore police officer in HBO’s “The Wire,” has died at 62.

His agent, Albert Bramante, confirmed the news of Brown’s passing in a statement to CBS News. He did not give a cause of death.

“Bobby J. Brown was an actor of incredible depth and a man of great character. Whether in the boxing ring or on a film set, he brought a unique authenticity and dedication to everything he did,” Bramante said. “His passing is a significant loss to the acting community, and he will be deeply missed by all of us at the agency. We ask for the privacy of his family to be respected during this unimaginably difficult time.”

Brown’s daughter told TMZ the actor died Tuesday of smoke inhalation after being caught in a barn fire. The Maryland Medical Examiner’s Office told CBS News Brown’s cause of death was diffuse thermal injury and smoke inhalation, and that it was an accident.

According to Brown’s daughter, a fire broke out when the actor attempted to jump-start a vehicle in the barn, TMZ reported.

Brown was born in Washington, D.C., and began his career as an amateur boxer, with a 73-13 record that included five Golden Glove Championships. Three of those bouts included three fights against Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker, who went on to become one of the greatest lightweight champions in boxing history. Brown went on to train with Carmen Graziano and boxed professionally in Atlantic City, N.J., which led to an acting gig alongside Mickey Rourke in 1988’s “Homeboy,” according to IMDb.

Brown studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York and made his TV debut in an episode of “Homicide: Life on the Street.” In the early 2000s, he appeared in “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” “The Corner,” and movies “Love the Hard Way” and “City by the Sea.”

His breakout role was as Officer Bobby Brown on HBO’s “The Wire.” He appeared in a total of 12 episodes across four seasons.

Brown also directed two documentary films: “Tear the Roof Off: The Untold Story of Parliament-Funkadelic” in 2016 and “Off the Chain” in 2006.