‘Unlike Bazball’: England go safe at selection, recall forgotten spinner for Gabba Test

England have gone against their ultra-aggressive “Bazball” instincts by making a surprising – but conservative – call at the selection table for the second Ashes Test at the Gabba and promising more circumspect shot selection when their time comes at the batting crease.

Batting all-rounder Will Jacks was called into the XI when the team was named on Tuesday, two days before the first ball is bowled. He will fill the vacancy created by the injury to paceman Mark Wood.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan says the selection of Jacks, who can bowl useful part-time off-spin, over frontline off-spinner Shoaib Bashir was an indication of the concern the visitors hold over their batting depth.

“England need the runs,” Vaughan, a commentator for Kayo this summer, told this masthead. “The one area they fail in Test cricket, that batting unit doesn’t get enough runs. I think that England unit want a few more runs, from what I hear.

“It’s a very unlike Bazball move. They’ve backed Shoaib Bashir for three years for this moment. That tells you a lot about what’s going on there.”

Its three years since Jacks, now 27, played his only two Tests in Pakistan, scoring handy runs in the lower-middle order and taking six wickets.

Despite not playing a Test since then, the Surrey off-spinner will face Australia in an otherwise unchanged England side.

Ahead of Thursday’s pink-ball Test at the Gabba, England No.3 Ollie Pope declared his side would be willing to adjust their approach – himself included – after a series of rash shots outside off stump contributed to their heavy defeat in Perth.

England insist the Gabba holds “no fear” and are drawing confidence from the West Indies’ stunning eight-run victory in Brisbane almost two years ago. But scrutiny on the tourists has intensified after Pope was quizzed about media reports involving teammates Ben Stokes, Mark Wood and Jamie Smith riding electric lime bikes in the city without helmets.

In Queensland, riders can be fined up to $166 for failing to wear a helmet.

“Just put a helmet on next time, I guess,” Pope told reporters when asked about the incident. “Rules are rules, I guess. No other comment from me.

“If we did lose a game like we did, and everyone’s gutted, locking your doors and not coming out of your rooms is the unhealthy thing to do, as we saw in COVID times.

“If they [the media] want to catch us doing that, then so be it. It’s important to have that balance on a long tour.”

A more pressing issue is England’s batting, with Pope one of several players criticised for throwing his hands outside off stump on a lively Optus Stadium surface.

Their shot selection was savaged by English media and former Australian paceman Mitchell Johnson, who labelled their display “arrogant”.

Pope conceded England would need to be smarter against Australia’s quicks on a Gabba pitch with a green tinge that is expected to offer similar pace and bounce.

“I was pretty annoyed with both dismissals in that game, if I’m being honest,” said Pope, who was England’s leading run-scorer with scores of 46 and 33. “I knew that was the risk on that pitch.

“At the same time, I was happy with how I was playing right until the moment I got out. If I can start my innings like that as much as I can while I’m out here, hopefully some big runs will flow.

“It’s quite a bouncy pitch, probably the second bounciest after Perth. It’s just being real clear on how I want to go about it this week.

“They’re lessons to take forward, and it might be similar conditions here in terms of driving on the up. I don’t want to just let the bowler bowl at me, but it’s just trying to play the percentages as much as I can. Everyone is clear on their game plans and there’s a few lessons individuals will take from last week and put into practice this week.”

England were blown away by Travis Head’s match-winning century in the fourth innings in Perth and would dearly love one of their dynamic top-order players to replicate his destructive strokeplay. Australia haven’t announced whether Head will retain his place at the top of the order.

“So whether it’s one of our team putting their hand up and playing a knock like that, or on the other hand, it might be someone absorbing pressure for that extra amount of time to try and allow the next person to go and do that as well,” Pope said.

“There’s obviously different ways you can skin a cat if you want to be successful. It’s trying to make sure that you’re putting the bowler under some pressure, but at the same time, trying to absorb it as much as you can when a bowler is in a good rhythm.

“We know Australia have a good record here, but at the same time, I think we saw West Indies went and turned them over last time, so we kind of take that as a bit of a positive.”

Asked if England expected Pat Cummins to play this Test, having missed the series opener due to a back issue, Pope replied: “He’s a world-class bowler but he’s someone we have faced as well. If he does play, then everyone knows how they want to go about and play him.

“I’ve faced him before. I know the challenges he poses, so I’ll try and combat that.”

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