Will Jacks Produces Unplayable Off-Break to Castle Steve Smith in 5th Ashes 2025 Test [WATCH]

Will Jacks bowled a magnificent delivery to dismiss Steve Smith in the 5th Ashes 2025 Test in Sydney. He extracted a significant turn off the deck on the final day and bowled one of the finest balls of the rubber.

Jacks pitched one on the fuller length outside the off-stump line, to which Smith came forward to defend by covering the line of the ball. However, the ball turned in sharply and went past the gate to crash into the stumps.

It was a classic off-break delivery: on the off-stump line, turning in sharply, and going past the batter’s defence to break the sticks. Smith did well on his part by covering the line, but the prodigious turn off the surface was something he didn’t expect at all, and rightly so.

He stood there in disbelief and couldn’t do much apart from going back to the pavilion, with England earning a wicket soon after the Lunch break. Will Jacks bowled well in the final session of the series and ended the tour with something to cherish forever – getting Smith with a dream delivery at a ground he boasts fabulous numbers on.

Will Jacks ends Ashes 2025 with useful all-round contributions for England

England didn’t employ a specialist spinner throughout the series and went with Will Jacks, as they wanted more batting depth. Then, there was little to no help for spinners for most of the series, and Jacks gave them ample batting options.

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To his credit, he did reasonably well, especially with the bat, and chipped in with useful contributions. With the bat, Will Jacks scored 145 runs at an average of 20.71 in seven innings, including a best of 47.

With the ball, he took six wickets at 53.66 runs apiece in five outings, even though he conceded 4.90 runs per over. These numbers could have been better, but given that Jacks was a surprise omission with little to no preparation for these conditions, he did well, and his couple of batting contributions in tricky conditions stood out.

But this series again showed the requirement of a specialist spinner in the side, even if he is not required in most conditions. England invested a lot in Shoaib Bashir, but it’s hard to say if he would have done any better than Will Jacks with the ball, given how inconsistent he often is with his lines and lengths.

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