Will Jacks setting his sights on becoming an all-rounder to boost his chances to earn England spot

Will Jacks has his sights set on becoming a true all-rounder as the England selectors consider which spinners will head to Pakistan for the three-Test series in December.

Jacks stood out on his England debut last month, crashing 40 from just 22 balls to take the win in the third T20 international in Karachi. But it’s his increasingly better days off that could open the door to a first Test tour, especially now that Moeen Ali has confirmed he has no intention of resuming his red carpet career.

Surrey used Jacks as their first-choice spinner this summer – among teammates, only sailors Jordan Clark and Dan Worrall threw more than his 264 championship overs.

Jacks (center) made his England debut on the T20 series tour against Pakistan

And while his shot, which gave him a first-class average of 54 when Surrey took the title, remains his selling point, he knows England may want a bowler who spins it the other way than slow left-armed Jack Leach, just in case the Pakistani pitches are spinning more than they did when Australia toured there earlier this year.

“I still have a lot of work to do before then,” said 23-year-old Jacks, who was named MVP of county cricket in all formats by the Professional Cricketers’ Association this week. “But I’d like to be able to honestly say to myself at some point in my career, ‘I’m a 50/50 all-rounder.’

“This time 12 months ago, I didn’t expect it. But I almost had to learn how to turn bowling on the job, and the change in the red ball format has been faster than in the white ball format.

“From April to my last four-day match in July I made significant improvements and now I’m a different player. I hope I can improve more in the winter and hopefully push for that spot.”

Jacks spoke to Moeen Ali about playing Test cricket for England during the recent T20 series

Jacks’ career numbers with the red ball remain modest, but he picked Moeen’s brains during the T20 series and says he “would love to play Test Cricket”.

Just as importantly, his approach to hitting would fit neatly into the template set up by Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum. His strike rate in four-day cricket for Surrey last season was a quick 77, and he got Oval Invincibles off to a routine start at The Hundred, finishing the tournament with a 43 average and a strike rate of 171.

And the T20 series in Pakistan has given him a taste. “There were a few nerves, as you’d expect, but I didn’t feel like I was going far out of my depth,” he said. ‘I felt quite comfortable. I felt I could do this – and I want to do more of it.”

Surrey CEO Richard Gould is among the picks to take over the new ECB CEO

Meanwhile, the ECB’s new CEO will likely come down to a choice between former Surrey CEO Richard Gould and Tim Bostock, who is currently in charge of Durham.

If Gould, who has been CEO of Bristol City FC since May 2021, is appointed, he will be reunited with his former provincial chairman Richard Thompson, who took over the chairmanship of the ECB earlier this year. Bostock moved to Durham in 2018 and has a background in banking.

Thompson has been keen to hire someone from the sport as the national game struggles with the latest attempts to change its structure – in the form of Andrew Strauss’ performance rating. A decision on the new CEO is expected before the end of the month.