Durham quartet named in the Ashes squad

WILL Jacks has been drafted as England's Ashes wildcard, with Harry Brook promoted to Test vice-captain ahead of the anticipated winter tour with four Durham players selected.

- By RORY DOLLARD

Ben Stokes captains the squad, with Riverside teammates and pace bowlers Mark Wood, Brydon Carse and Matthew Potts all named.

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 Stokes, with Pope now likely to be locked in a battle with Jacob Bethell for the number three spot.

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 power hitting in short-form cricket but the 26-year-old all-rounder has effectively been selected as a backup off spinner to Shoaib Bashir, edging out the likes of Jack Leach, Liam Dawson and Rehan Ahmed.