Will Jacks: A maverick driven by the 'go big or go home' philosophy

On Thursday evening, the cricket world was subject to an unfitting end to a magical innings, particularly for a man who wanted to lash out at the bowler, heaving his bat in a massive swirl while parallelly hoping to rack up his century in blistering fashion. We are talking about William George Jacks, better known among the cricketing fraternity as Will Jacks, Surrey’s opener who smashed five sixes in an over against Middlesex in the ongoing T20 Blast competition but fell agonisingly short of a well-deserved century as he departed for a 45-ball 96. 

So what makes Will Jacks special? What makes him that wrecker-in-chief so effortlessly that drew the RCB scouting management’s focus towards him in the auction prior to the IPL 2023 season? The answer is that there isn’t just one attribute, there are many. From his prolific hard-hitting flair to his ability to adapt to any given situation, he is just the quintessential T20 batter who adds strength to any team’s batting unit. 

He couldn’t be a part of the RCB contingent in the recently concluded IPL after picking up an injury just ahead of the season. But then from thereon, ever since he has returned from the injury, Jacks has batted like a man possessed and barring the game against Hampshire, he has registered knocks of 60 against Somerset, 69 against Glamorgan and 96 against Middlesex.

It took him four balls to hit his first boundary against Tom Helm but once that arrived, he was rampaging his way through the bowlers. Razing his way through the Middlesex bowling unit, Jacks unleashed his remorseless striking all over the park, leaving the aforementioned names in utmost agony. In the modern age of T20 cricket, the need of the hour is to score runs at a canter, and that’s where Jacks’ ‘live and die by the sword’ approach of attacking the bowlers come into the picture.

Opening the innings for Surrey, he just dished out a reminder of how dangerous he can be if he gets going and what heralds for the RCB fans in the upcoming season. Another crucial ability of Jacks is that he can adapt himself to any given situation.

Going by his stats, Jacks has a very good strike rate of 159.2 while opening the batting, but he’s also been tested out in the middle order going by strike rates of 131.5 (No.3) and 156.9 (No.4). Jacks’ power is enough vindication that he’s a proper captain’s nightmare, capable of clearing big boundaries with ease, a trait of the Englishman’s that makes him one of the best in the shortest format of the game. 

May it be batting anywhere in the batting line-up or just any role that is being asked of him, Jacks delivers it in decimating style. From the first four matches in the T20 Blast, Will has smashed 225 runs. With numbers like these, expect him to be running the long line of the players who stay in the hunt for the top run scorer of the tournament and even win it, to cap off a grand run of form in style.