England spin bowling coach Jeetan Patel has defended all-rounder Will Jacks despite a poor bowling performance on day three of the third Test against Australia in Adelaide (Friday, December 19). Patel said that Jaques did not bowl poorly in the match and was selected in the playing eleven to strengthen England’s batting lineup.
Australia has strengthened its hold with a huge lead of 356 runs. The decision to favor Jack as the main spinner ahead of Shoaib Bashir was criticized. Australia targeted Jacques aggressively, which exposed his limitations. The right-arm off-spinner took one wicket for 107 runs in 14 overs in Australia’s second innings.
I don’t think Will Jacques bowled badly – Jeetan Patel
After the third day’s play, Jeetan Patel said that Will Jacques’ bowling was not as bad as it looked. He said Australia played smartly by using their legs to put Jacques under pressure. Patel also said that Jack was selected primarily for his batting skills.
,I don’t think he has bowled badly, if anything he has been a touch short or straight touch at times. Their speed has decreased slightly compared to before [Nathan] Lyon But I’m not comparing him to Lyon, I’m comparing him to Will JacquesPatel said.
“And look, they’ve played him very well. They’ve used the crease, they’ve gone deep, they’ve run at him, they’ve used offside and legside and they’ve tried to score to put him under pressure, and that’s probably what you would do against a spinner of Jack’s nature where it’s not his frontline skills.”
“But we all know why he was selected, and that was because of the first two games where we felt we needed extra batting cover.”
“I don’t think he bowled badly.”
England’s spin bowling coach Jeetan Patel on Will Jacks. pic.twitter.com/qKXIhzQwkg
– Test Match Special (@bbctms) 19 December 2025
Shoaib Bashir is our number one boy – Jitan Patel
Jitan Patel said that Shoaib Bashir remains England’s first-choice spinner and the team has confidence in his abilities. Patel said the balance of using four fast bowlers with support from Will Jacks could work well in the right conditions. However, he admitted that this did not yield results.
“I still believe that Bash [Shoaib Bashir] We have our number one guy, and I think he does a great job for us, and he always has,” Patel added.
“Because we play that way, we pick the players we think will best suit the game, and with all four seamers active and Jackie supporting him, I think it works. I think it works very well, but it probably didn’t play as well as we would have liked today.”
Will Jacques endures tough Adelaide Test, Australia takes strong control
Will Jacques was given a very tough test in Adelaide. He became the first England player since 1981 to score more than 100 runs in both innings of an Ashes Test. Australia attacked their bowling and scored runs freely.
In contrast, Australia’s spinner Nathan Lyon showed strong control. He took two wickets for 70 runs in England’s first innings. His tight bowling helped captain Pat Cummins manage his fast bowlers better and keep the pressure on England.
After this, Australia took a big lead in the second innings. Travis Head scored 142 not out, while Alex Carey made another innings of 52 not out. At the end of the third day, Australia scored 271 for 4, with a lead of 356 runs.
Also read: Ben Stokes got injured during the third Ashes Test, England hid the matter but the commentator exposed the truth.
