Will Jacks is primed to be among England’s reserve options at the World Cup after advancing his claims for a spot in a shadow side’s win over Ireland in the second one-day international.
England going to India next week ahead of the defence of their 50-over crown, which starts in less than a fortnight, means a completely separate squad was chosen for the Metro Bank series against Ireland.
Jacks did not make the cut for the World Cup but, with England yet to announce who will be on standby to travel in case injury strikes, he boosted his chances with a dazzling 94 off 88 balls on Saturday.
Asked if he feels like he has given the selectors a nudge, the 24-year-old said after England’s 48-run win at Trent Bridge: “I don’t know – that’s up to them, I’ve just got to do what I can on the pitch.
“This was a good start. It’s my first ODI game of the summer, since Bangladesh (in March), and I’m happy with how I’ve started.
“Hopefully I’ll have another opportunity (in the third and final ODI) on Tuesday and put in another good show.
“But the World Cup squad has been selected, I’m hoping to score runs in the meantime and if anything comes up then I’ll be ready.”
A changing of the guard is expected at the end of the World Cup as a number of first-choice, established players are expected to retire from the 50-over format and usher in the next generation.
Jacks gave a demonstration of what England fans could expect in the next few years as he opened for the first time in ODIs, finding some fluency with some crisp drives and punishing anything short.
He thumped four sixes but seeking his fifth to bring up a maiden international ton, Jacks instead top-edged George Dockrell to Andy Balbirnie, who settled under a skier a few feet in from the boundary.
Jacks, though, was unrepentant and signalled his unwavering commitment to the approach to batting that has served England so well in recent years.
He said: “I would have been more frustrated if I’d have tapped it around, got to 99 and then nicked off, that would have really p****d me off. I’m really happy with how I went about it.
“You’ve got to keep pushing forward – the state of the game, you can’t just knock it around and think about yourself.
“Obviously I’m going to think about those six runs and so will some other people watching but the 94 is what counts and the team win is what matters most at the end of the day.”
Sam Hain took top billing among England’s four debutants with 89 from 82 balls to lift England to 334 for eight but George Scrimshaw had mixed fortunes on his international bow as Ireland subsided to 286, with teenage leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed the pick of the attack with four for 54 in a classy 10 overs.
Scrimshaw bowled four no-balls in his first over and two in his second, plus a wide, as he leaked 35 in 11 legal deliveries but the seamer showed plenty of character to finish with figures of 8.4-0-66-3.
Jacks said: “Everyone could see he was pretty down about it. I bowled two no-balls myself. It’s a pretty bad feeling. Especially when you’re on debut, the adrenaline, the emotion.
“Everyone’s felt it in some way, just for him to be on TV, a global stage, it was a horrible feeling. He came back really well, got three wickets and bowled nicely, which he deserved.”
England had a combined 38 ODI appearances ahead of this fixture – compared to Ireland’s 720 – but they may find themselves flung together more often so this was a promising glimpse into a potential future.
After England moved 1-0 up in a three-match series that will conclude in Bristol, Jacks added: “We’ve just come together but we’ve all played together a lot and against each other numerous times, we know how each other plays, we know each other as people so it’s almost like you gel straightaway.
“We’re just guys who are really relishing playing for England and getting these opportunities while the World Cup squad is away. We’re just loving it.”
Sinclair grabs 5-44 as honors even at stumps on day one of deciding third unofficial “Test” against South Africa “A”
Kevin Sinclair was the star of day one of the deciding third unofficial “Test” between the West Indies “A” and South Africa “A” at the Manguang Oval in Bloemfontein on Tuesday.
South Africa “A” were able to post 274 in 67.4 overs after winning the toss. Khaya Zondo led the way with a well-compiled 70 off 114 balls including seven fours and two sixes.
Captain Neil Brand also showed some good form with a 93-ball 62 while Zubayr Hamza made 30.
Sinclair was excellent with the ball, picking up 5-44 off 14.4 overs, already his fourth five-wicket haul of his 20-match first-class career.
Shamar Joseph and Shermon Lewis provided good support with 3-65 from 15 overs and 2-68 from 13 overs, respectively.
The West Indians ended the day 17-1 off eight overs, trailing by 257. Tagenarine Chanderpaul was the batsman dismissed for 3. Zachary McCaskie (12) and Kirk McKenzie (2) are the batsmen at the crease.
The teams are tied at 1-1 in the series. West Indies “A” won the first game by one wicket and South Africa “A” won the second by 232 runs.
Full Scores:
South Africa “A” 274 off 67.4 overs (Khaya Zondo 70, Neil Brand 62, Zubayr Hamza 30, Kevin Sinclair 5-44, Shamar Joseph 3-65, Shermon Lewis 2-68)
West Indies “A” 17-1 off 8 overs
Sophie Ecclestone set for England return in T20 opener in India – Heather Knight
Sophie Ecclestone will make her England comeback in Wednesday’s T20 series opener against India, with captain Heather Knight declaring the spinner “fit and firing” after four months out.
The world number one white-ball bowler needed surgery after dislocating her shoulder in August while taking part in the Hundred, missing the home series against Sri Lanka and the Women’s Big Bash League in Australia.
But she stepped up her recovery during England’s recent training camp in Oman and is ready to return to action at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.
“Sophie has missed a bit of cricket with the injury she had but she’s going to be fit and firing, so I’m looking forward to seeing her bowl,” Knight said.
“I don’t think bowling will be an issue, she’s been doing really well, but fielding there might be a bit of nervousness. I’ve had injuries myself where it’s about getting over trusting your body.
“I’m sure in the heat of battle Sophie will be fine, she’s tracking really well in training, diving around and things like that, but we’ll keep a close eye on her because she’s obviously a key player for us.”
England have not toured India since 2019 but Knight was among a handful of players who played in the country’s inaugural Women’s Premier League and believes it is the perfect place for her side to develop.
“It feels a long time since we’ve been to India, but now the WPL is a staple in the calendar there’s going to be a lot of cricket here for English players,” she said.
“I always feel I learn a lot about my game playing in Indian conditions. It really tests you as a cricketer in terms of skill level, how you deal with the noise, the heat and the other things that tend to happen in Indian tours.
“It’s a really good place to accelerate development and I’m excited to see how we cope with it.
“I’m really excited to see what sort of crowd we get too. Hopefully we get a few in after the WPL earlier in the year and we can silence the crowd, if there is one.”
England have one doubt for the series opener, with Charlie Dean set to sit out due to illness.
Kevin Wickham and Academy bowlers combine to crush Emerging Ireland by 432 runs at Coolidge
As was expected, West Indies Academy inflicted a soul-crushing defeat on Emerging Island in their four-day match at the Coolidge Cricket Ground on Wednesday to sweep the series 2-0. Having been set a nigh-impossible target of 575 runs, the tourists wilted under the pressure and we bowled out for 143, thus losing by a mammoth 432 runs.
Having resumed from their overnight total of 172-4, for an already significant lead of 432 runs, West Indies Academy, spurred by Kevin Wickham’s unbeaten 105 and contributions of 32 from Nyeem Young and 22 from McKenny Clarke, eventually declared on 321-8.
The spark in the dark for Emerging Ireland was the haul of 5-75 by Tom Hayes, who got some support from Michael Frost whose two wickets came at the cost of 136 runs from 32 overs.
With a target of almost 600 runs, Emerging Ireland were never up to the task against a rested and confident West Indies Academy bowling attack led by Joshua Bishop who snagged 4-36 and Clarke, who bowled miserly for 2-16 from six overs.
Lower-order batter Liam McCarty offered the most resistance with a knock of 35 not out. Otherwise, opener Stephen Doheny was the only other batter who got into the 20s, with 23.
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