Usman Khawaja’s farewell tour from hell took another twist on Tuesday when he was ruled out of the second Ashes Test due to his back injury.
Josh Inglis and Beau Webster are believed to be in the frame for a call up after Australlia ruled out Khawaja but opted against replacing him in the squad for the match in Brisbane, starting TRhursday.
Khawaja batted for half an hour in the Gabba nets on Tuesday but appeared in discomfort, according to reporters witnessing the session.
He was injured on the opening day of the first Test – with blame cast on his decision to play golf the day before the game.
His back spasms in the first Test forced Marnus Labuschagne and then Travis Head to be deployed as makeshift openers in Perth.
Meanwhile, England rolled the dice by opting for a off-spinning all-rounder to replace injured Mark Wood.
Will Jacks returns to Test cricket for the first time in three years.
Wood managed just 11 overs in Perth and had already conceded he would not feature in every match of the five-Test series.
His absence strips Ben Stokes of his most explosive fast bowler but gives England more batting depth. With Brydon Carse potentially sliding as low as number ten despite averaging 22 in Tests, Stokes suddenly has a considerably shorter tail to work with.
Jacks has beaten specialist spinner Shoaib Bashir for the vacant spot after a clear signal from England’s training session on Tuesday where Jacks was heavily involved.
The 27-year-old Jacks last played Test cricket in Pakistan in 2022, where he burst onto the scene with six wickets in his debut innings.
He did not take another wicket across his next three innings but remains a dangerous lower-order striker with white-ball power.
England XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Will Jacks, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer.
The Roarhttps://https://ift.tt/6SQ2thW ruled out, England opt for all-rounder over spin specialist for second Ashes Test
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