Born entertainer Will Jacks eyes BBL springboard: "It's a great opportunity to show off"

NICK HOWSON: The Surrey allrounder and now Hobart Hurricanes new boy wants to ensure his career isn't exclusively known for that knock in Dubai in 2019

• Michael Bevan comparisons, English overseas stars and young leg-spinners: Eight Big Bash players to watch
• Big Bash squads 2020-21: Full BBL 10 player lists
• New rules and faces but familiar challenges... BBL 2020-21: Things to watch

Will Jacks is ready to write the next chapter of his burgeoning career when he steps onto the global T20 circuit for the first time at the Big Bash League.

The 22-year-old has been enlisted for the 2020-21 campaign by Hobart Hurricanes, who were impressed by the displays which won him the Vitality Blast MVP prize for eventual runners-up, Surrey.

Though initially signed up as a replacement for Dawid Malan, whose own maiden BBL spell will be delayed by an enforced quarantine period, Jacks will stay on for the entire season to aid his cricketing education.

This winter promises to be a major learning curve for the Englishman. Testing himself in relatively alien conditions - he did spend last winter in Australia with England Lions but played once - against the highest calibre of opponent he'll have faced to date will be a litmus test of his credentials. After his exploits during just his third season in the senior ranks, this is naturally the next step.

"The expectation is probably that I wouldn't have been playing the Big Bash after three years," he told The Cricketer. 

"It is something I've always wanted to do, showcase to the world what I can do. It is not something I thought about during the season either. I just tried to play well in every game. I wasn't pushing for it.

"Yeah definitely (this is a chance to announce myself). It is thought of very highly and the difference with England is every game is on TV. In the Blast there are only two or three times you get to play on TV so there isn't the same exposure.

^{Jacks toured Australia with England Lions last winter but played just a single game}

"It is about playing against some of the best players in the world, pushing myself and trying to get better basically. By the end of the tournament, I know where I'll need to improve."

The combination of success in the Blast and a Big Bash appearance finally puts distance between Jacks and the performance that both defines and undermines his career. 

That pre-season 25-ball century against Lancashire in Dubai last year might be regarded as the fastest century by an Englishman, but it has become increasingly meaningless to the Chertsey native.

It feels as though every mention of that knock has acted as inspiration for the white-ball allrounder, creating an eagerness to ensure that showing becomes a footnote on his career CV rather than the headline.

"Every interview I've done in the last year-and-a-half it has been brought up," he admitted. "It was in a (T10) practice game so, in my mind, it didn't really happen. This summer I moved on from someone who had good potential to some consistent performances.

"People pigeonhole you as being that kind of player. I feel like I can do more than that. Hopefully, I can keep it going."

^{The Blast MVP is ready to spread his wings}

Those multi-skilled players are increasingly becoming the foundation of successful T20 sides. Specialist players are luxuries in a playing XI. England under Ed Smith, Chris Silverwood and Eoin Morgan are rapidly going in that direction. Encouragingly for Jacks, he backed up his undoubted hitting ability (309 runs at a strike-rate of 149.27) with 13 wickets and a handy economy rate of 6.46 during the Blast. He is well aware of his international ambitions rest of developing both aspects of his game.

"International cricket is the goal. Everyone knows in T20 cricket you have to be multi-dimensional, either with bat and be a gun fielder, or with bat and ball," said Jacks. "That is something I tried to work on this year with my bowling and I got opportunities this year. Moving forward I've got to keep improving and get it level with my batting."

With Morgan indicating most places in his World Cup squad for India in 2021 are filled, Jacks admits the tournament comes too soon. The postponed even in Australia 12 months later, after a few seasons with Hurricanes, is a much more realistic ambition.

"That is the plan," he concedes. "Do well here for a few years and see where it takes me.

"I know I've got a great opportunity to put my name out there and pick up from where I left off this summer. It's a great opportunity to do well and show off. I'm not worried about failing."

Gift a subscription to The Cricketer this Christmas and choose your free gift (a £20 John Lewis gift card or copy of Bob Willis: A Cricketer & A Gentleman). Subscribe here