It took a moment for the name to land, almost like one of those subtle film cameos that reward the sharp-eyed. Will Jacks, two Test caps to his name and just five first-class outings across the past two summers, will board the plane to Australia this winter. England’s selectors have not been shy of a curve-ball lately and, after Shoaib Bashir, Josh Hull and Jacob Bethell last year, Jacks rounds off another trilogy of eyebrow-raising calls.
First, the basics. Jacks turns 27 on the opening day of the Ashes series and arrives as the squad’s spare part who can plug several gaps. He bowls off-spin a touch quicker and taller than most – think Bashir but six inches closer to the clouds – and he bats with the kind of intent that sits nicely with the current regime. England, desperate to keep Ben Stokes fit, also like having someone else who can belt a quick 40 or two from the middle order if the captain’s knee says no.
“I think Jacks goes in as a tactical decision as much as a replacement,” managing director Rob Key said on Wednesday.
“You can have a second spinner who’s just there as an out-and-out spinner, who is just going to replace the number one if he goes down. But it’s going to be down to the seamers and batters to get the runs and wickets.”
That little speech sums up where the brains trust believe this Ashes could be won. On the faster Australian pitches, seam will shoulder the workload and spin is expected to be supportive rather than starring. Hence the preference for a bowler who can “hold an end” – Key’s phrase again – without leaving the batting one short.
“Will Jacks isn’t the finished article as a spinner but he’s someone you might be able to get to hold an end up if we’re thinking spinners aren’t going to be the ones that define the series. It may well be different.”
Key is also banking on temperament. The head coach, Brendon McCullum, has been warning players about “the noise” – everything from the extra pace they will face to the predictable needle from local crowds and media. Jacks, they believe, can cope.
“The ability to bat too. We think he’s someone who’s not going to be overawed by the occasion, the extra pace and bounce you get over there. He’s just a really handy option to have for the different conditions we might come up against.”
The selection keeps Jordan Cox on standby and leaves Rehan Ahmed as the senior reserve spinner, a curious status for a 21-year-old with one Test under his belt. It also continues England’s policy of throwing talented youngsters at the deep end: Hull’s left-arm height will shadow the main squad on the Lions trip, while Bethell is tipped for a similar fast-track role. Results have been mixed – Bashir’s tidy debut summer balanced by occasional growing pains – yet the hierarchy feel the upside is worth the risk.
Jacks’ Test experience to date is limited to Pakistan in late 2022, where he took a six-for on debut in Rawalpindi before the turning tracks of Multan and Karachi exposed his rough edges. He has spent much of the last 12 months globe-trotting on the franchise T20 circuit, something that worries traditionalists but no longer troubles England. If anything, the think-tank values the competitive stress and varied conditions those tournaments provide.
A brief look at the statistics explains both the attraction and the gamble. With Surrey, Jacks averages a shade under 38 with the bat and just over 38 with the ball in first-class cricket – decent, not dazzling. What numbers miss is the rate: he scores quickly, bowls purposefully and seldom drifts through a session unnoticed. In a side that thrives on momentum, that matters.
Privately, the management also see him as loose cover for Stokes the bowler. The captain insists he will contribute with the ball, though nobody inside or outside the camp is entirely sure how the knee will react to five Tests in seven weeks. If Stokes has to ration himself, Jacks offers a few overs of spin, a bit of medium-pace in practice sessions and, crucially, the licence to keep the run-rate ticking over at No. 6 or No. 7.
None of this makes him a guaranteed starter. Jacks could spend most of the trip carrying drinks, especially if Jack Leach stays fit and the top six fires. Yet England prefer solving problems before they materialise and his versatility ticks enough boxes. Balanced against the risk of fielding someone undercooked, the management have reverted to a familiar mantra: back attitude, back aptitude, and worry about the rest later.
Whether that faith is justified will unfold on Australia’s unforgiving grounds, where reputations are both made and mangled. For now, Jacks joins an Ashes squad that already drips optimism, another unconventional piece in a puzzle that Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum believe can crack a first series win Down Under since 2010-11. It might sound bold; it is certainly consistent with everything they have done so far.
