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Will Jacks was included in England's Playing XI for 2nd Ashes Test against Australia in Brisbane. (PHOTO: X)
Former England captain Michael Vaughan has questioned the inclusion of Will Jacks in the playing XI for the second Ashes Test at Brisbane, calling the move “very un-Bazball”. The 51-year-old said that Jacks’ selection went against the very nature of the direction Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum have taken the present side in.
Vaughan praised Jacks as a cricketer, but admitted that the decision to pick him was not an attacking move by the visitors.
“England’s selection for the second Ashes Test at the Gabba is very un-Bazball and goes against the grain of so much Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum have done since taking charge of this team.”
“Don’t get me wrong, Will Jacks is a very aggressive cricketer who fits the mould of this team. But they are normally ultra-positive, and this is not an attacking move,” Vaughan wrote in his column for “The Telegraph”.
The former batter felt that the inclusion of Jacks at number eight meant that it shortened England’s tail considerably.
“Jacks at eight, followed by Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse and Jofra Archer is one of England’s shortest tails in history. It is certainly a far cry from the infamous tail of Andy Caddick, Alan Mullally, Phil Tufnell and Ed Giddins from 1999. Caddick’s Test batting average was 10, and if my mate the Tuffers is batting anywhere other than No 11, you know something is not right,” he wrote.
The 2005 Ashes-winning captain added that Jacks’ role as an off-spinner will be crucial in the second Test, considering the heat factor in Brisbane, which might drain the fast bowlers quickly.
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“The big concern about Jacks is that he is going to have to bowl a lot of overs. The Gabba is a hot ground. I know that might sound simple, because Queensland has a hot and humid climate. But it just feels hotter than any other venue in Australia. When you are out on the ground, it’s almost as if the heat is coming up out of the turf.”
“That will zap England’s bowlers of all their energy, and most of them have a long history of injury. Archer cannot bowl too much, Atkinson tails away when his workload spikes, and Stokes sometimes needs saving from himself with the ball. Jacks will have to chip in, bowl some tidy spells without being whacked out of the attack. Four seamers is almost always enough, but in these conditions you need five bowling options. England have given themselves four-and-a-half,” Vaughan wrote.
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