Will Jacks Returns to England Side for Second Ashes Test After Three-Year Absence

Will Jacks Returns to England Side for Second Ashes Test After Three-Year Absence

Will Jacks is set to make his first Test appearance in three years after being named England’s frontline spinner for the second Ashes Test in Brisbane. The Surrey allrounder replaces injured fast bowler Mark Wood and moves ahead of Shoaib Bashir in the selection order for the pink-ball fixture beginning Thursday.

Jacks, 27, has only two Test caps—both earned on the 2022 tour of Pakistan, where he took 6 for 161 on debut in Rawalpindi. Unlike that series, where he was one of several spin options, he will now shoulder England’s primary spin duties with the visitors trailing 1–0 in the series.

Despite limited recent experience in red-ball cricket—just five first-class matches across the last two seasons and five wickets at 38.80 in this year’s County Championship—Jacks has remained in England’s wider plans. His all-round batting strength, combined with time spent working with head coach Brendon McCullum during the summer, ultimately boosted his case.

The decision, however, marks a significant moment for 21-year-old Bashir, who has been England’s first-choice spinner since the start of the 2024 home summer. After debuting in India earlier that year, he has collected 68 wickets in 19 caps but now finds himself left out for the first time. Bashir, currently without a county contract after leaving Somerset, had been part of the 12-man squad for the opening Test in Perth.

England had initially opted for an all-pace strategy for the first Test, but the influence of Nathan Lyon’s prolific pink-ball record—43 wickets at 25.62 in 13 day-night Tests—prompted a rethink.

“Talking about the tactical element of a day-night game, you do try to look at Australia,” captain Ben Stokes said. “They play a lot of day-night cricket here, how they use their spinner as an attacking option, or to give bowlers an easier rotation and get through overs quicker to have more time with the new ball under lights.”

England XI for the Second 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

Jacks’ return adds both depth and balance as England look to level the series under lights at the Gabba.