Ben Stokes has reassured Shoaib Bashir he is still England’s number one spinner – despite leaving him out for the second Ashes Test.
England have rolled the dice with their team selection for Thursday’s day/night clash at the Gabba, recalling all-rounder Will Jacks for a first appearance in three years.
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His combination of flighted off-breaks, dangerous power-hitting and athletic fielding have seen him leapfrog the more one-dimensional Bashir, who has enjoyed unstinting faith from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum since usurping left-armer Jack Leach 18 months ago.
For much of that time they have talked up his raw potential and readiness to make a splash Down Under but, after going with all-out pace in the first Test at Perth, England have looked elsewhere again.
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While Jacks has been handed the opportunity of a lifetime, Bashir has been released to play for England Lions in a four-day match against Australia A four miles away at Allan Border Field.
It could be seen as a make-or-break moment for the 22-year-old, who faces an unclear county future as he nears the exit at Somerset, but Stokes made sure to sugar the pill with a vote of confidence.
“He knows if it was down to picking our best spinner, he’d have played,” he said.
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“Baz (McCullum) does the telling of good news and bad news and I’m there for follow-ups, so it was pretty much like that. We thought this was the best XI for the conditions and circumstances of the game.
“We tried to look at how we thought spin was going to be used and there was a bit of a tactical element to it – obviously with Jacksy’s ability with the bat, having that down the order for us is useful as well.
“But if it ever comes down to picking our best, number one spinner, selection would go the other way.”
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Stokes speaks to the press in Brisbane on Wednesday (Robbie Stephenson/PA)
Whether it ever does come back down to that exact question depends in large part on how Jacks responds to a second chance that seemed a distant long shot just a few months ago.
He has barely been in the Test conversation since winning a pair of caps in Rawalpindi and Multan in December 2022, while his white-ball career has gone from strength to strength.
But Stokes agreed that he now had a chance to open up a new path.
“Yeah, definitely. He’s been playing so well in the nets and the time he’s been out here training,” he said.
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“Since coming into the squad in Pakistan and starting off very, very well, he’s turned himself into the cricketer I always thought he could be.
Mark Wood looks on during a nets session (Robbie Stephenson/PA)
“He’s incredibly talented and I think he’s gone from strength to strength since two and a half, three years ago. It’s great for us that we’ve got someone who’s looking in pretty good order coming into a big Test match.”
Jacks officially replaces the injured Mark Wood in the side, with the paceman laid low by an injured left knee. He underwent surgery on the joint in March and has been walking gingerly with heavy strapping in recent days.
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The third Test in Adelaide already seems ambitious, with the Boxing Day clash in Melbourne a likelier target.
“With Woody, it’s obviously a little bit of a setback, but he’s doing everything that he can and the medical group are doing everything they can to try and get him to potentially be available for the last three,” Stokes said.
“We’ve got a lot more time to go on this tour and we’ll just see how things play out with that.”
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