England all-rounder Will Jacks has had the last few weeks quite eventful. First, he ended up in a hospital all of a sudden. His plans to celebrate his mother’s birthday got disrupted big time as an emergency surgery was performed on him at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. And then he made a quick recovery and represented the national team with distinction.
Jacks, who bowls off-spinners and plays for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League, was diagnosed with appendicitis last month. However, when he went to the hospital, it was the last thing on his mind as he believed it couldn’t be anything but a stomach bug. Anyway, he was operated on, a minor procedure of course. Within weeks, he was back on the field as the England Lions skipper against Sri Lanka for a T20 game in which he scored 30 not out and took two wickets. Then he featured in the ensuing three-game T20 series against the same opposition. Yesterday, he played in the first ODI and took a five-for for the first time in the format. He also made 46 not out with the bat. Needless to say, England won comfortably like the previous games.
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Hasn’t it been a rollercoaster? See, we didn’t make any exaggerated claims. Jacks recalled everything in detail as to what all he went through in the last few weeks. “It was just really bad, really quickly, so we had to go. It was, obviously, completely random and quite scary. I was lucky to be looked after really well by the NHS. Luckily, they were able to do a slight incision and not have to rip me open completely,” he said.
His figures of 5/22 at Chester-le-Street were the second-best for an English spinner. The record still belongs to Vic Marks, who took 5/20 against New Zealand at Wellington more than 42 years ago. 27-year-old Jacks shed light on his incredible performance. “It was more of a confidence thing. It helped that we were playing the T20s first, and I was bowling a maximum of four overs. If I am honest, I only bowled five days before the first game because I was building up my strength and trying to get some fitness back. I didn’t bowl too much in the T20 series, which probably benefited me. It has been OK,” he said.
Jacks was initially given a four-week recovery time but returned to action much before, and the rest is history. One can’t help but be really impressed by his stoicism. What do you say?
