Will Jacks will play his first Test in three years after England opted for a spin option for the second Ashes Test against Australia in Brisbane, selecting the off spinner in place of injured pace bowler Mark Wood.
Jacks, 27, comes in as the only change from the side beaten heavily in the first Test in Perth. He is preferred to Shoaib Bashir for the day night match at the Gabba, partly because his batting offers England greater depth at number eight.
Australia have their own reshuffle after opener Usman Khawaja was ruled out with the back spasms he suffered in Perth. His absence clears the way for Travis Head to continue opening the batting following his match winning century in the series opener. Leeds born batter Josh Inglis is set to come into the side, with Australia choosing not to call up a replacement player.
There is also the possibility of a surprise return for captain Pat Cummins. He missed the Perth Test with a back injury and is not officially in the squad for this match, although he has trained in Brisbane. Scott Boland said, “I’d love to see him out there playing. He looked in red hot form the other night. It’s as good as you’ll see a fast bowler charging in the nets. We know how good he is, he’s the best bowler in the world. We want him out there as desperately as everyone else does. I’m not sure a decision has been made on that yet.”
Jacks was considered a left field inclusion in England’s Ashes squad and now has the chance to win a third Test cap after focusing heavily on white ball cricket in recent seasons. He has played only three first class matches this year, taking five wickets in 74.1 overs.
Ollie Pope backed his Surrey team mate, saying, “Everyone knows what a brilliant cricketer he is. The way he’s grown over the last few years, we’ve seen his white ball game really go forward. It’s a great opportunity for his red ball, too. He’s obviously got that style of spin bowling where he can get some bounce and turn off the pitch, then everyone has seen the skills he’s got in the white ball format. He can take on a really good attack.”
Jacks, who has 60 white ball caps, is primarily a batting all rounder but took six wickets on his Test debut in Rawalpindi in 2022. While day night Tests are often seen as favourable to fast bowlers, Australia off spinner Nathan Lyon has historically produced stronger figures with a pink ball.
Ben Stokes indicated that England have considered that dynamic. “They play a lot of day night cricket here,” he said. “How they use their spinner as an attacking option, or more to get through the overs quicker to have more time with the new ball under lights, there is both those elements to consider.”
England team for second Ashes Test: Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wk), Will Jacks, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer.
