Will Jacks hopes he’s within the reckoning for a World Cup spot as he pursues his dream of being an all-format common for England regardless of an “absolute disaster” of a schedule.
An explosive batter whose off-spin is ever-improving, Jacks is a scorching commodity on the franchise circuit however amid an ongoing arm-wrestle between international locations and golf equipment, the 24-year-old’s focus is on England.
He is prone to function sooner or later in white-ball collection in opposition to New Zealand and Ireland within the coming weeks earlier than England journey to India in October to defend their standing as 50-over champions.
Moeen Ali and Liam Livingstone appear to be the favoured spin-bowling all-rounders however Jacks was within the prime 5 run-scorers within the Vitality Blast and has had a few belligerent cameos in The Hundred.
He instructed the PA information company: “I’d like to think my name will be mentioned in conversations for the World Cup. You’ve got to perform, work hard and it’s hard to get in. You’ve really got to earn it.
“Overall, I had a pretty decent season in the Blast and I just want to continue in The Hundred to give myself the best opportunity to play for England.”
If Jacks is missed, he might function in December’s tour to the Caribbean, the place England are because of face West Indies in a white-ball collection that begins two weeks after the World Cup last.
The three ODIs adopted by 5 T20s is being extensively touted as a altering of the guard for England in limited-overs internationals, with a lot of their first-team gamers of their early-to-mid-30s.
Jacks stated: “Even after the World Cup there’s some more 50-over cricket right after that.
“There’s a lot of opportunities for people afterwards. You never know, after the World Cup there could be changes in the squad, etc. Hopefully it’s going to be a busy winter but we’ll see.”
Jacks, who’s going at a strike-rate of 168.33 for Oval Invincibles in The Hundred, isn’t on any sort of England central contract, having made his worldwide debut in all three codecs within the final yr.
It was a chaotic winter, capped by him lacking out on the XI for a Test in opposition to New Zealand and every week later making his ODI bow in Bangladesh, however regardless of grumbles about cricket’s more and more bloated timetable, Jacks has not as soon as considered placing franchise commitments on the prime of his agenda.
You by no means know, after the World Cup there may very well be modifications within the squad, and many others. Hopefully it’ll be a busy winter however we’ll see
Will Jacks
Former England batter Alex Hales stated final week after saying his worldwide retirement that he would “chuck my eggs into the T20 basket” if he have been beginning out and abandon any Test goals.
But Jacks stated: “It’s never entered my mind. I’m very happy playing red-ball cricket – I enjoy it, it’s a tough challenge but it’s incredibly rewarding so it’s something that I’ll definitely continue with.
“(Being a three-format cricketer) is obviously very tough to do. The schedule these days all over the world for 12 months of the year is an absolute disaster, to be honest. You’ve got to be flexible.
“It’s a tough thing if you don’t see many people do it, I’m guessing over the years that fewer and fewer people will do it. It depends on what stage of your career you’re at and what your ambitions are.
“But if you have ambitions to play Test cricket and all three formats for England, which is what I want to do, then it’s about sticking with it.”
Hales stepping away from England leaves a emptiness on the prime of the order, which Jacks will likely be in rivalry to fill, as will Surrey and Invincibles opening companion Jason Roy.
The pair have but to hit prime gear in The Hundred, the place the Invincibles will try and bounce again from Sunday’s defeat to Birmingham Phoenix in opposition to native rivals London Spirit on Tuesday.
Jacks added: “We haven’t quite fired in this tournament but there’s a lot more time for us to fire before the knockout stages when it counts.”