Will Jacks has had a setback as he attempts to push his way into England’s World Cup reckoning after he was ruled out of the remainder of the tour of Bangladesh with a thigh injury. The 24-year-old all-rounder made his first one-day international appearance in Mirpur last week to complete a full set of international debuts within the space of six months, but injury now looks likely to apply the brakes to his ascent.
With Jacks out, the series won and spin reinforcement required – England bowled 46.2 overs of it across the first two games of the series, through Jacks, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid – Rehan Ahmed is likely to make his international white-ball debut in the final ODI on Monday. The 18-year-old was ruled out of the first game through illness but has fully recovered, impressing in recent training sessions.
“He is the real deal,” Mark Wood said on Sunday. “He’s got youthful enthusiasm and excitement and it’s as if he’s playing a club game. He just wants to bowl and whack it. He has a nature about him which is just lovely to see. It’s quite infectious and I am really looking forward to seeing how he goes. When he played his Test match, it was like it was not a big deal, and I think he will be exactly the same in whatever format it is. I know the pressure might be on a little bit more in one-dayers where people try to whack you, but I think he will deal with it fine.”
Before the opening ODI last Wednesday Jacks had not played a 50-over game of any kind since 2019, but his record in Twenty20 cricket – and his ability to bowl useful off-spin – has forced him into England’s white-ball reckoning. In 102 career innings in the format he averages 29.8 with a fearsome strike rate of 157.9, memorably scoring a 48-ball 108 for Oval Invincibles in the Hundred last year. He left the field midway through Bangladesh’s innings in the second game of the series on Friday after feeling tightness in his muscle, and will now fly home to begin his recovery, missing the three T20s that follow the concluding ODI on Monday.
Jacks has four weeks before he is due to make another debut, with Royal Challengers Bangalore’s first game of what will be his first Indian Premier League season scheduled for 2 April. RCB bought him for 3.2 crore (£250,000) in the December auction. The injury is not thought to be serious enough to jeopardise his participation in the IPL.
Meanwhile Wood has said England’s success in Bangladesh, where they have become the first touring side in nearly seven years to win an ODI series, shows that they are capable of winning in any conditions – including at the World Cup in India later this year. “I think we’ve got such a good, talented group. When I’ve finished I can say that I got to play with the likes of Jos Buttler and other people like that – these are some of the best players that England’s ever produced,” he said.
“To think that we can’t turn up here and win, why not? Why can’t we? We’ve got an unbelievable team. Why can’t we win in these conditions? I don’t think as a team we should fear anybody. We can beat anybody in any conditions.
“We’re champions in two formats. Why can’t we go to India and win? I don’t see why not. We’ve got fast bowlers, we’ve got experience, we’ve got great spinners and we’ve got some of the best batters in the world – we’re ticking boxes every team would want. I don’t want it to sound arrogant, but I’m confident in my group. We’ve got some top-class players, we should be able to go there and think we can win. And if we go there with any doubt, that’s when we’ll fall down.”
