Jacks the lad to be England's wildcard in Ashes test

WILL Jacks has been drafted as England’s Ashes wildcard, with Harry Brook promoted to Test vice-captain ahead of the hotly anticipated winter tour.

- By RORY DOLLARD

Jacks has largely been viewed as a white-ball specialist during his international career, winning his only two Test caps in Pakistan almost three years ago, but was handed the final spot in a 16-man squad that travels to Australia with hopes of reclaiming the urn for the first time since 2015.

As expected, limited-overs skipper Brook has leapfrogged previous incumbent Ollie Pope as right-hand man to Ben Stokes, with Pope now likely to be locked in a battle with Warwickshire’s Jacob Bethell for the number three spot.

Bears all-rounder Chris Woakes was not considered for selection due to the dislocated shoulder he suffered against India at the end of the summer.

Jacks is best known for his powerhitting in short-form cricket but the 26-year-old has effectively been selected as a backup off-spinner to Shoaib Bashir, edging out the likes of Jack Leach, Liam Dawson and Rehan Ahmed.