Jacks picked as England’s back-up spinner for Ashes; Brook named VC

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 November 21

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.

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. (BBC)