Wildcard Jacks pick for Ashes is England's latest Bazball call

It was a selection akin to a movie Easter egg. A nod to preceding works, like a Cornetto or colour-based last names, which in this case was left-field selections.

This winter will be three years since Will Jacks' previous two Test caps, an anniversary he will mark as a member of England's most optimistic Ashes tour in 15 years. And the thread of selecting a player with just five first-class appearances in the last two summers tethers Jacks to 2024's selection trilogy of Shoaib Bashir, Josh Hull and Jacob Bethell as unorthodox picks.

Much like Jacks, those three were the kind of calls that required a degree of imagination. Squint hard enough at the time and you could see why Bashir was different to other English spinners, that Bethell had the wares to be a world-beater and the value in fast-tracking a tall left-arm quick.

That this trio of 21-year-olds will be in Australia this winter - Hull likely to feature on the Lions tour which runs alongside the main group through to Brisbane - speaks of varying degrees of success with hot-housing development through early exposure. Which makes Jacks' selection that much more intriguing.

He is not really there as England's second spinner over Rehan Ahmed, even if his knack of coming over and down the ball at six-foot-two carries similarities to Bashir. Nor has he expressly beaten Jordan Cox to the spare batter slot, though he also offers the attacking verve of his international and Oval Invincibles team-mate. Jacks, who turns 27 on the first day of the Ashes, is neither and, yet, both.

"I think Jacks goes in as a tactical decision as much as a replacement," managing director Rob Key said on Wednesday.

"You can have a second spinner who's just there as an out-and-out spinner, who is just going to replace the number one if he goes down. But it's going to be down to the seamers and batters to get the runs and wickets.

"Will Jacks isn't the finished article as a spinner but he's someone you might be able to get to hold an end up if we're thinking spinners aren't going to be the ones that define the series. It may well be different.

"The ability to bat too. We think he's someone who's not going to be overawed by the occasion, the extra pace and bounce you get over there. He's just a really handy option to have for the different conditions we might come up against."

Key's assertion that Jacks won't be "overawed" is, ultimately, what got his selection over the line. And it does not just pertain to playing high pace above your waist.

Brendon McCullum has been open about "the noise" England should expect in Australia, on and off the field. As much as he will try and insulate them from it, he is all too aware the onus will be on individuals to deal with what pressure comes their way. Jacks, they feel, will not shrink in that environment as others have done.

Though Jacks has not been a regular under McCullum, with just two Tests in 2022 against Pakistan and 10 limited-overs matches this year, the 26-year-old has a reputation for fronting up.

A sought-after talent on the franchise circuit, he has always been entrusted with key roles at the top of the order and with the ball, particularly with Oval Invincibles and Pretoria Capitals. Still yet to crack the IPL, a century in Ahmedabad for Royal Challengers Bengaluru and all-round consistency for Mumbai Indians in the most recent edition hint at an unflappable character, unperturbed by the bright lights.

Of course, fronting up itself is no guarantee of success, and there are examples of that within Jacks' sporadic international career.

During his second Test, in Multan, he batted three in the second innings - albeit only lasting four balls - to allow Ollie Pope to come in lower down the order after keeping. In last year's T20 World Cup, he took the second over against Australia and conceded 22, lined up to Bridgetown's short side by Travis Head. His current reinvention as a white-ball finisher has, so far, been modest.

His biggest call to arms this winter may not be deputising for Bashir, whether through injury or England deciding against playing an out-and-out spinner if conditions dictate. It may well be as a replacement for Ben Stokes.

England's talismanic captain is said to be well on course to recover from his right shoulder tear and play a full part in the Ashes as an allrounder. But after missing five Tests in the space of 12 months due to three internal injuries, contingency plans have been made.

The clearest of those has been Harry Brook's ascension to vice-captaincy ahead of Pope. "He's set his style and identity, which is very similar to someone like Ben," Key noted of Brook's work since assuming limited-overs captain from Jos Buttler at the start of the summer.

Replacing Stokes' aura and tactical acumen will not be straightforward, though the sense is Brook offers more of both than Pope. Practically, he has often been replaced by a seamer. Even as far back as the 2017-18 Ashes when Steven Finn, and then Tom Curran, were drafted after Stokes was suspended following a fight outside a Bristol nightclub.

Should Stokes be unavailable at any point this winter, Jacks offers a neat compromise. Not only could he bat at No. 6, thus allowing Jamie Smith to stay at seven, but it would then mean an extra seamer play instead of Bashir. That way, England would be able to maintain a similar balance of batting depth and bowling options.

Essentially, Jacks' selection can be boiled down, simply, as England's 16th and final pick. A wildcard for a trip to a country where they have not won a Test since 2011. Someone offering what they might want as much as what they might need.