There were plenty of positive takeaways for England after a dominant six-wicket victory in Antigua on Wednesday night levelled their one-day series against the West Indies.
Yet rather than the return to form of either Sam Curran or captain Jos Buttler, it was the performance of Will Jacks at the top of the order that was perhaps the most significant.
Jacks has long been rated as a possible successor to Jason Roy, his Surrey team-mate whose international career is now over after he was dropped for England’s shambolic World Cup defence in India.
The 25-year-old has all the power and aggressive intent of Roy. He is a front-foot player who takes the game to the opposition and while he is nowhere near the finished article, there are signs he can be the long-term replacement for one of England’s greatest ever white-ball openers.
His innings in Antigua was a case in point. The burgeoning partnership between Jacks and Phil Salt has been the biggest positive of a series that will go down to a decider in Barbados on Saturday.
The pair raced to 77 for one in the ninth over of the series opener last Sunday – a match England lost despite posting 325.
And they were at it again three days later, putting on 50 in 5.5 overs to set up a successful chase of 203 that was completed with 103 balls to spare.
England can be thankful for the explosive start their openers gave them for ensuring the chase didn’t disappear down the rabbit hole of incompetence the team dived into so often at the World Cup.
The bedrock of England’s white-ball revival following the 2015 World Cup was the aggressive tempo set by their opening partnerships – Roy, and Alex Hales and then later Jonny Bairstow.
It’s no coincidence that England’s successful 2019 World Cup campaign on home soil suffered a significant wobble when Roy was absent with a hamstring strain for three games.
And as well as Dawid Malan played in the World Cup just gone, ending the tournament as England’s leading runscorer, his partnership with Bairstow never gelled and failed more often than not to get the team off to the fast starts that had become their trademark.
This has only been two games against a West Indies team so poor they didn’t even qualify for the World Cup.
Yet the form of Salt and Jacks at the top of the order is promising, so promising in fact that whatever happens in the series decider on Saturday, England may feel they have an opening partnership that can take them all the way to the 2027 World Cup in southern Africa.
Jacks, in particular, was so impressive on Wednesday. After reaching his fifty in 43 balls, he was forced to reassess and knuckle down after England slipped to 85 for three following the losses of Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett.
He ended up with 73 from 72 balls before being dismissed by Sherfane Rutherford but his maturity and ability to assess what was needed in a tricky situation prevented England from collapsing.
It is that versatility that stands him in great stead for the future and suggests he may well have a future as a Test player too.
Unfortunately, England’s central contracts cock-up when they announced deals for 29 players midway through their World Cup campaign, did not include Jacks.
Jacks admitted before this series began that he only found about his contract snub via X, formerly Twitter, along with everybody else. “That was disappointing,” he said.
At 25, he has the skillset to be a multi-format star for England. Yet after performing well during England’s 3-0 series win in Pakistan last winter, where his part-time spin also came to the fore, he will be playing in South Africa’s T20 competition in the New Year rather than England’s five-Test series in India.
“The India Test matches have been in the back of everyone’s minds – such a massive series, and there’s all the talk about spin and the need for all-rounders and having a deep squad,” Jacks said. “I’m now thinking, okay, if they wanted to pick me then realistically I would have been given a contract.”
Rob Key, England’s director of cricket, suggested after the World Cup that he could hand out more central contracts throughout the year. If that happens, Jacks should be the first player he calls.