Will Jacks gives backing to England captain Harry Brook amid Wellington fallout
Brook will look to put a troubled winter behind him as he leads England in the T20 World Cup.
Will Jacks insisted England are fully behind embattled white-ball captain Harry Brook, adding the Yorkshireman is “making amends on the pitch”.
Brook has had a troubled winter after failing to fire in the Ashes, followed by the revelation he was punched by a nightclub bouncer on Halloween, hours before an ODI against New Zealand in Wellington.
The issue has dogged England in recent weeks after Brook admitted he lied about being alone during the fracas, but he has had an important role in presiding over ODI and T20 series victories in Sri Lanka.
England therefore head into the start of their T20 World Cup campaign against Nepal in Mumbai this weekend with a bit more of a spring in their step and with Brook backed to the hilt by his team-mates.
“He’s made a wrong decision but he’s accepted that and we’re now trying to move forward in a positive direction,” said Jacks, who was roommates with Brook at the 2018 Under-19s World Cup.
“He’s making amends on the pitch and we will back him 100 per cent. I think his kind of character is looking at the brighter side of life.
“He knows what he’s done and there’s nothing you can change about that so there’s no point focusing on it too much from his perspective. He wants his cricket to do the talking.”
Phil Salt was absent as England sealed a T20 series clean sweep over Sri Lanka on Tuesday because of a back spasm, but he batted in the nets on Friday and is expected to open alongside Jos Buttler on Sunday.
If Salt is unavailable, Ben Duckett would likely be preferred over Tom Banton up top but Jacks is another alternative, even if he is settled in the more unfamiliar role of lower-order all-rounder.
His part-time off-spin was dismantled by Australia in the 2024 T20 World Cup but having been moved down to number seven from the top-three during Brook’s reign, Jacks has had to focus more on his bowling.
But the 27-year-old, who was England’s frontline spinner in four Ashes Tests after being preferred to Shoaib Bashir, is happy to oblige and form a three-prong spin trio with Adil Rashid and Liam Dawson.
“The more I’ve bowled, simply the more I’m going to get more comfortable and understand spin bowling in general,” said Jacks.
“I know that last T20 World Cup was talked about, how Australia got after me, but that’s part of the game.
“At some stage everyone’s going to get a bit of tap in a T20. You just have to move on, take it in your stride and I’ve developed since then.
“My experience in the Ashes was a different format but bowling at players of that quality is only going to be a good thing for my bowling.”
It is anticipated Jofra Archer will be fit despite skipping England’s final optional practice session.
England have elected not to train on Saturday as the Wankhede Stadium is in use for India-United States. While the DY Patil Stadium in neighbouring Navi Mumbai was offered as an alternative, it involved a three-hour round trip.
