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England give surprise Ashes call to spinner Jacks
England have given a surprise recall to Will Jacks as the back-up spinner for the Ashes, with Harry Brook replacing Ollie Pope as vice-captain.
Jacks played his two Tests in 2022 and leapfrogs Rehan Ahmed, Liam Dawson and Jack Leach to provide cover for Shoaib Bashir.
Brook's elevation is significant in that it will once again ignite the debate over the security of Pope's place at number three.
Pope has been Ben Stokes' regular vice-captain, stepping up to lead England on five occasions, but Brook has impressed since being named white-ball captain at the beginning of the summer.
With Brook now stepping up as Stokes' deputy, Pope could be more vulnerable to the challenge of Jacob Bethell.
In a 16-man party, Mark Wood is named in a stacked pace-bowling department despite not playing a Test since August 2024 because of elbow and knee injuries.
With Matthew Potts taking the final specialist pace-bowling slot, Wood also joins Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse and Josh Tongue as England call on a group capable of producing the pace and bounce they believe is necessary to deliver success in Australia.
Chris Woakes, who bravely batted with a dislocated shoulder on the final day of the home Test summer against India, was not considered on fitness grounds.
The pace pack will be supported by Stokes, who England will hope can survive the five Tests down under. The 34-year-old all-rounder is still recovering from the shoulder injury that kept him out of the final Test against India, but is believed to be on track to play the Ashes opener in Perth on 21 November.
England's Ashes squad: Ben Stokes (captain), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook (vice-captain), Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Josh Tongue, Mark Wood.
Under Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum, England have shown loyalty and continuity in their selection. New Zealander McCullum previously said the Ashes selection meeting would be "short", with only the identity of the second spinner up for debate.
Leg-spinner Ahmed was thought to be in pole position, but Surrey's Jacks is given the nod despite taking only five wickets in 74.1 overs in first-class cricket this year.
Primarily a batter, the 26-year-old gives England a degree of flexibility, while there is a theory that tall off-spinners are best suited to Australian conditions. An England white-ball regular, Jacks is recovering from a broken little finger and will be fit in time for the Ashes.
McCullum also foreshadowed the change in vice-captain by describing Brook as an "emerging leader within English cricket".
In truth, Brook is most likely to succeed Stokes as Test captain, yet the immediate context surrounds the battle for the number-three position.
Pope, England's long-term number three, was preferred to Bethell in the home summer, only for Bethell to make his maiden professional century in a one-day international against South Africa.
Bethell will have further chances to impress in white-ball matches in New Zealand that precede the Ashes, while further clues will come in England's only warm-up match in Australia, against a Lions team in Perth.
Bar a decision between Pope and Bethell, the batting line-up is settled and England's strength. Zak Crawley has received long-term backing with Australia in mind and will open alongside Ben Duckett. They join Joe Root, Brook and wicketkeeper Jamie Smith. There is no specialist wicketkeeping cover, with Pope able to provide back-up.
For one of the most-anticipated Ashes series in years, and probably England's best chance of winning away since they last triumphed in Australia in 2010-11, they will now hope they can keep their players fit across the five Tests.
Of most importance will be Stokes, who has not completed any of England's past four Test series. His heavy workload in the India series resulted in the shoulder injury.
Stokes and Wood are the only two bowlers in England's squad to have played a Test in Australia before.
Wood, 35, has a chequered injury history, though England's fastest bowler changed the course of the last Ashes series in the UK in 2023, when the home side came back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2.
He initially suffered an elbow injury in the summer of 2024. When he made his comeback to play in the Champions Trophy earlier this year, he suffered a knee injury that required surgery. Wood initially targeted the end of the India series to return, only for that to gradually be pushed back. By the time of the Ashes opener, Wood will not have played a Test for 15 months.
Wood's Durham team-mate Potts comes back in after not playing a Test this year. The 26-year-old benefits from the injury to Woakes and the red-ball retirement of Jamie Overton.
Even before the injury, it was not a given that Woakes would be included given his previous poor record in Australia. He opted against surgery and a lengthy rehab period on his left shoulder in a bid to be fit for the Ashes, but is not being risked. At 36, he seems likely to miss out on a new central contract and could have made his last England appearance.
Overton played in the final Test against India and his hit-the-deck style of bowling was seen as suited to Australia. However, injuries have limited him to five first-class matches in two years and he has opted to pause his red-ball career. Overton will be in Australia playing in the Big Bash for Adelaide Strikers.
The tour of New Zealand begins on 18 October, with three T20s followed by three one-day internationals.
Crawley is named in the T20 squad and could make his international debut in that format. Brook, Bethell and Carse are the only other members of the Test squad in the T20 party, with Duckett, Smith and Archer rested.
The one-day squad is full strength, with call-ups given to Dawson, Sam Curran and Luke Wood.
A Lions squad to shadow the senior group in Australia will be announced at a later date.
England ODI squad to play New Zealand: Harry Brook (capt), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Sonny Baker, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler, Brydon Carse, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Luke Wood.
England T20 squad to play New Zealand: Harry Brook (capt), Rehan Ahmed,, Sonny Baker, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler, Brydon Carse, Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Luke Wood
Source: BBC
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