Will Jacks Recalled to England Squad for Second Ashes Test at Brisbane

England is gearing up to take on Australia in the second Ashes test at Brisbane. They have strengthened their plans by recalling Will Jacks to the Playing XI, who is a specialist batter. The added advantage is that he can also provide a useful part-time spin option to England, so that they can bring versatility in their attack.

Will Jacks will replace Mark Wood in the England squad, who has been ruled out of the second test due to injury. The fastest bowler of England was lethal in the Perth test, but now he will miss the Brisbane test to get some time to recover.  

Will Jacks will make a comeback to the England test squad after a long period of time. He is coming at a stage when the English team is down in the Ashes with a 1-0 score line. Therefore, it would be a pressure game for the Jacks to prove his match-winning potential in test cricket.

"It's something I'm really looking forward to. To be on an Ashes tour in the first place is something I wouldn't have been expecting a few months ago. But it's been amazing to be here, be around this team… to be in the XI is a dream come true, to play an Ashes series away from home.” said Will Jacks.

He further said that his primary goal would be to support the England team in all three departments. He understands how to make an impact in the match, as the team will rely on his all-round abilities to challenge the dominant Aussies.

"Personally, I'll just be looking to add a little bit to the team in each three facets of the game. I know I can effect the game in a positive way like that, and I'll just be doing my best to support whenever the team needs me.” said Will Jacks.

The upcoming match at Brisbane will be a day-night game, and Will Jacks have a lot of experience in playing white-ball matches under lights. He is therefore confident to perform well in the match, as the conditions at Brisbane are also quite familiar to him.

"Obviously I play a lot of white ball cricket under lights and hopefully that will suit me and the conditions won't feel too foreign to me. Mostly, I'm just looking forward to getting out there and trying to do my best." added Will Jacks.

The inclusion of Will Jacks in the squad means Shoaib Bashir will have to sit out in the dugout. While Bashir is certainly a better spinner than Jacks, his batting capabilities are limited. England has chosen Jacks for his abilities in both departments, because the visitors performed poorly with the bat in the last game at Perth.

England’s Plan to Utilize Spin Smartly

The captain of the England team, Ben Stokes, understands the tactical shift they need to make in the Brisbane test. He cited Australia as an example of how spinners are used as an attacking option in day-night test matches. Keeping this in view, he is planning to use Jacks smartly in the match to outfox the Australian batting plans.

"Talking about the tactical element of a day-night game, you do try to look at Australia. They play a lot of day-night cricket here, how they use their spinner as an attacking option, or more to give the bowlers an easier rotation and to get through the overs quicker to have more time with the new ball under lights. There's both those elements we will consider with how a spinner is to be used in a day/night game." said England test captain, Ben Stokes.

With the inclusion of Will Jacks, England will try to utilize spin more during the night sessions of the Brisbane test. It would be interesting to see how Jacks will respond to this call, as he is making a comeback to the test side after a long period of time.

England Playing XI for Brisbane Test

1 ⁠Zak Crawley, 2 ⁠Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 ⁠Harry Brook, 6 ⁠Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Jamie Smith (wk), 8 Will Jacks, 9 Gus Atkinson, 10 ⁠Brydon Carse, 11 Jofra Archer