Will Jacks says that his captain and long-time team-mate Harry Brook will let his cricket do the talking in their T20 World Cup opener against Nepal on Sunday, as controversy continues to swirl about his confrontation with a nightclub bouncer in New Zealand late last year.
Brook was last week forced to issue a second apology for his off-field behaviour, after it was revealed that he had lied about the details of the incident in Wellington in October. However, on the field, he has overseen an uptick in England's fortunes, with back-to-back series wins on their white-ball tour of Sri Lanka, including a 3-0 victory in the T20Is that extends their recent record to ten wins out of 11.
It means that will go into the World Cup as one of the stronger contenders, and having reached at least the semi-finals in each of the last four editions of the tournament, Jacks says there is a quiet confidence within their squad.
"It's not so much momentum, it's more about team unity and feeling strong within ourselves," Jacks said. "We have been performing well over the last 12 months, since Harry's become captain, and we're very happy with that. What we did in the last few weeks in Sri Lanka is another stepping stone to that.
"We come here full of confidence and belief, which is obviously very important. But that doesn't guarantee us anything. We know that there's amazing teams in this World Cup. Knock-out cricket, if we get there, is tricky. But India on home soil, I think everyone knows they're the favourites and the team to beat."
England's unity is a notable feature of their build-up, given the pressure that had been on Brook from the outset of the tour. At the start of the Sri Lanka leg, in his first public statement since the nightclub incident was revealed, Brook had said he would need to "win back the trust of his players". But Jacks gave the impression that that was a done deal.
"We go back a long way. We were room-mates together at the Under-19s. So for him now to be captain is pretty cool for me to see. Obviously, it's been a tough time that's been well documented in the media.
"I wasn't actually in New Zealand, so I didn't know anything about it. He obviously made a wrong decision, but he's accepted that, and we're now trying to move forward in a positive direction with that. And he's obviously making amends on the pitch, and we will back him 100%.
"His kind of character is always looking on the brighter side of life," Jacks added. "He knows what he's done, and there's nothing you can change about that, so there's no point focusing on it too much. From his perspective, he wants to let the cricket do the talking."