England captain Ben Stokes has backed “incredibly talented” Will Jacks to shine following his surprise selection for the day-night second Ashes Test starting at the Gabba in Brisbane on Thursday. 

England were beaten by Australia inside two days in the first Test in Perth and need to avoid defeat or risk seeing their hopes of regaining the Ashes go up in smoke. In their only change, England recalled 26-year-old Jacks for his first Test since 2022 following an injury to pace bowler Mark Wood. Stokes said Jacks was preferred over fellow off-spinner Shoaib Bashir because of his ability with the bat, and said Jacks had improved since he played his two Tests in Pakistan in 2022.