Will Jacks believes The Hundred can act as a bridge between county cricket and the international game, and admitted he has been inspired by the recent positive approach of England’s Test team.
The 23-year-old has had a stand-out season across the formats this year, and currently averages 54 in red-ball cricket, as well as being the 11th-highest run scorer in the T20 Blast.
Now, as he prepares to help the Oval Invincibles men’s team look to match the feat of their victorious women’s team last year, Jacks is looking to make his mark on the competition.
“I think it (The Hundred) is just like a bit of a bridge between county cricket and international cricket,” Jacks told the PA news agency.
“The quality of the local players is obviously the highest that we’ve got and then the quality of the overseas players is incredibly high. There’s some of the best players in the world on show.
“That’s something I really enjoyed last summer, the cricket was of very high quality and I’m sure that’s something that will be replicated this summer.
“So it’s a chance for all the local players to test themselves and for someone like me to really push my game forward and push for the international (squad).”
Before the end of 2023, England have two white-ball World Cups and, due to the number of injuries and Ben Stokes dropping out of the ODI format, the team is far from set.
Jacks is looking to impress in the upcoming competition, with the Invincibles playing their first game on Thursday against London Spirit.
“I think obviously every domestic player has their eye on international cricket – and that’s no different to me – that’s something I’ve wanted to do my whole life and hopefully I’ll get the opportunity one day,” Jacks admitted.
“But The Hundred is an opportunity for that – it’s great players in my team and teams I’ll be playing against, so I’ll be able to put my name out there.”
When it comes to red-ball cricket, the Surrey opener admitted the recent transformation of the England Test side and their new-found approach, often referred to as “Bazball”, has given him freedom in his own game.
“To see the England team playing like that, it creates so much excitement around the game, you see it with the fans on day five and those chases and just county cricket in general there’s a good buzz around it,” Jacks said.
“Every time you play with freedom, it’s exciting, it’s fun, so I know it’s something that I’ve really enjoyed watching and if I could take some of that into county cricket as well it’s only good.”
He added: “I think for someone like me who’s naturally more inclined to being positive and aggressive, it just gives me a certain amount of freedom.
“That I know they’re playing that way, therefore, if I want to take the game on in the County Championship I can do that and know that it can be a positive option.”
