"For anyone still curious about the exact role of Will Jacks in this England Test team, the key is probably to see him as a kind of a tell, a set of entrails, a weather vane on the state of the game. The first rule of Jacks goes like this. If you can see Will Jacks on your TV screen, it's bad. If Will Jacks is bowling when you wake up something has gone wrong."
"If Will Jacks is batting something has also probably gone wrong. And yes, the flaw in this equation is the obvious fact that if you can't see Will Jacks things have probably also gone wrong. But it is less certain. If you can't see him, there is still a glimmer of hope, perhaps even the dream of the Zero Jacks day, where everyone else does their job, and nothing is seen of Will Jacks at all."
On the third day of the Adelaide Test, Australia asserted dominance and pushed the match and series beyond England's reach. Will Jacks featured heavily as England's newly promoted No 1 off-spinner and his presence acted as a barometer of England's fortunes. After tea he bowled an over of long hops, leg-side half-volleys and repeated short balls that appeared wildly erratic and might have warranted an umpire warning. He eventually took a wicket when Usman Khawaja played a loose cut, but the delivery still felt like a point for Australia.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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