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Will Jacks has entered England’s thoughts for the day-night second Test against Australia as they look to level an Ashes series that, after arriving with confidence, is already in danger of slipping away.
Jacks was viewed as something of a left-field pick when England named their 16-man squad in September, with the Surrey all-rounder having won the last of his two Test caps during the 3-0 win in Pakistan three years ago and focused chiefly on white-ball cricket since.
But the knee injury to Mark Wood has opened up a spot in the XI, with the final call being whether to stick with a five-man pace attack – Josh Tongue next in line, having returned from the Lions match in Canberra – or turn to either Jacks or Shoaib Bashir to provide a spin bowling option.
As England netted under lights on Monday evening, their main twilight session before the series resumes on Thursday, a crowd of about 25 spectators watched as Bashir and Jacks bowled in tandem to Ben Stokes – what looked like an audition should the latter scenario play out.
Jacks in particular bowled for longer than during previous training sessions on this tour, as well as putting in a decent stint working on the batting that could be stationed at No 8 and bolster England’s lineup. If so then Stokes would be required to bowl more overs as the fourth seamer.
Much will hinge on England’s reading of conditions in Brisbane and whether talk of the latest pink Kookaburra ball going softer than its red equivalent means potential periods of attritional cricket. Given the first Test in Perth lasted only two days and saw millions of dollars in revenue lost, the Gabba groundstaff may be well wary of setting things up for a repeat.
Australia’s record of played 14, won 13 in day-night Test cricket is imperious – a considerable challenge given the current scoreline. But that one defeat in the format took place here in Brisbane in January 2024 when West Indies pulled off a shock for the ages.
The pace of Shamar Joseph famously stole the show but their off-spinning all-rounder, Kevin Sinclair, played a role. He scored 64 runs from No 8 across his two innings – vital in an eight-run win – and broke a stand worth 81 during Australia’s first innings by removing Usman Khawaja. With this in mind, the more all-round Jacks could well be the way to go.
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Though not as quick as Wood, a return for Tongue after his detour to Canberra would maintain the all-out pace approach seen in Perth. Either way, seam is still likely to be the main wicket-taking threat, with Brydon Carse confident he and Jofra Archer can repeat the first innings assault that saw Australia rolled for 132 all out and left nursing some bruises.
Speaking before training, Carse said: “I’d like to think there will certainly be moments in this game, and throughout the series, where we can have that sort of impact on the Australian batting lineup.
“We have got to take massive amounts of confidence from that first day in Perth. As a group of seamers we all offer different skills and attributes so hopefully we can continue to trouble some of the Australian batters.”
