The last six months in the career of Will Jacks have been such a whirlwind even his own clothes have not been able to keep up. Half a year ago he had never played for England in any format; now he has played in every format, completing the set by making his ODI debut against Bangladesh on Wednesday, hours after being reunited with a lost suitcase and gratefully clambering into some fresh underwear.
A week ago Jacks was in New Zealand as part of the Test squad but, after missing out on the team for what would prove a dramatic concluding match in Wellington, left for Dhaka. “I landed at midnight on the 25th but my bags didn’t arrive, and I didn’t get those until Tuesday morning, which made training quite hard,” he says. “I hit some underarms with Phil Salt’s gloves and Dawid Malan’s bat and I got some new training gear, but I had to wear the same underwear for two days, basically. I pretty much just sat on my bed in the same clothes for 48 hours, it was pretty depressing.”
It was a rare and pretty trivial setback in what has been a serene ascent. The 24-year-old played two T20s in Pakistan last September, returned there to play two Tests in December – taking a six-for on debut – and on Wednesday was the most economical of England’s spinners on his first ODI appearance (with one for 18 from five overs) and their second-highest run-scorer (with 26 from 31 balls). He has also squeezed in that New Zealand trip and seven appearances for Pretoria Capitals, the eventual beaten finalists in South Africa’s new SA20, for whom he was by a margin the most successful batter, with 270 runs and a high score of 92.
“It’s been my busiest winter by a long shot. I think I’ve had six days at home since the start of November, and that’s pretty ridiculous to me to be honest,” he says. “It’s just the way the schedule is at the moment, and that’s something as players that we have to get on board with if you want to play all three formats, which I do.
“It’s been a complete whirlwind but I’m just grateful to be playing some cricket. Obviously New Zealand was an amazing tour, but I didn’t play any games so it was nice to get back in the middle, feel the pressure and the crowd and stuff like that – that’s what I love doing.”
Like Dawid Malan, whose unbeaten 114 was instrumental in sealing England’s victory in the first of three ODIs in the country, Jacks’s experience in Bangladesh’s domestic T20 competition, the BBL, came in handy. “I’d played maybe five games [in Mirpur] before, I’d played against their seamers and there was only one spinner who I hadn’t faced. The guy who actually got me out was on my team, so I’d faced him a lot in the nets. Obviously the pitch was pretty tough, but I felt comfortable playing in the conditions.”
Having benefited from that experience, Jacks is now keen to hoover up as many others as possible. “I’ve just turned 24, hopefully I’ve got a long career ahead,” he says. “Playing for England has been something I’ve dreamed of, and it’s something I want to do as much as I can. Playing franchise cricket obviously opens up other doors and gives you … well, everyone knows what it can give you, so it’s something that is not to be turned down as well.
“I’d love to play for England in all three formats for the rest of my career, but at the same time I love to play franchise cricket – I love playing T20 cricket so much – so I’m not going to turn down any opportunities. I love playing everything.”
When it comes to career planning Jacks is very much flying by the seat of his pants, even if his pants aren’t flying with him.
