The name of Eddie Jack has been doing the rounds after the 19-year-old Hampshire teenage has reportedly called up to the senior England team ahead of their five-match home Test series against India. The 6’4″ tall pacer has been impressive on his England Lions debut last week where he dismissed the likes of India’s KL Rahul and Dhruv Jurel during the second unofficial four-day Test match.
Based on a report at The Times, Jacks has caught the attention of England’s coaching staff, including Andrew Flintoff, Mark Wood, and Graeme Swann and has subsequently been ‘invited’ to train with the senior Test side.
Eddie Jack – All you need to know
A medium pacer from Barnet, Jack is yet to make his Hampshire in the County Championship. However, he has played 11 List A games so far for Hampshire and three T20s in the Vitality Blast.
Prior to the India A games, Jack plated for Combined Counties XI against Zimbabwe and took five wickets across two warm-up matches. His dismissals include that of Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine. Earlier, Jack has also represented England Under-19 against South Africa.
Jack’s inclusion to the England squad comes in at a time when the Ben Stokes-led side are limited as far as their pacer battery is concerned. While Jofra Archer has been ruled out of the first Test, Mark Wood is unavailable for the entire summer and Gus Atkinson is also recovering.
The five-match Test series against England also starts a new World Test Championship chapter for India and a brand new era under Shubman Gill following the retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
England squad for first Test against India
Ben Stokes (Captain), Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes
