Will Jacks makes way in England’s Test playing 11 after 3 years having been picked ahead of Shoaib Bashir for Brisbane.
Will Jacks back in England XI after three years for second Ashes Test.
Will Jacks, an all-rounder, will play in his first Test match in three years after replacing Shoaib Bashir as England’s spinner for the second Ashes Test in Brisbane.
Fast bowler Mark Wood, who was sidelined due to injury, will be replaced by Jacks, a left-field selection for the Australian tour. The Surrey all-rounder, who took 6 for 161 on his debut in the first Test in Rawalpindi, gained his first two Test caps in Pakistan in 2022. This will be his third.
The 27-year-old was one of numerous spinners on both those occasions but now finds himself not just forced into an Ashes with England 1-0 down, but as their major spinner in the day-night Test, which begins on Thursday.
Jacks collected just five wickets at an average of 38.80 in three County Championship appearances in 2025, and he has only participated in five first-class games over the past two seasons. If he takes a wicket in the next Test, it will only be his 50th in first-class cricket since making his debut in 2018.
He has been employed irregularly as a spinner in limited-overs cricket, with 50 caps across ODIs and T20Is with just nine wickets. It aided his cause for inclusion for the tour as he had spent the summer training with head coach Brendon McCullum upon his return to the limited-overs set-up in May. Jacks was subsequently awarded a two-year central contract in October.
“It’s something I’m really looking forward to,” told the ECB’s in-house media. “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.
“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.
“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.”