279 runs off 138 balls: The day Will Jacks announced himself to the cricket world

Surrey batsman Will Jacks has been clearing the ropes long before he wore the Prince of Wales feathers. He talks to ED KRARUP about the innings for St George's College, Weybridge that caught the eye of Surrey and Alec Stewart

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Any batsman wanting to progress to a higher level knows what they need to do. Score runs, and lots of them. In cricket, runs are currency and selectors would be foolish not to follow the money.

Heading into his final summer as a schoolboy at St George’s College, Weybridge, Will Jacks was already firmly on the Surrey radar. He had been a part of the county’s set-up for several years, starting on their Elite Player Programme aged 13 before graduating to the academy at 16. But it was on the first Saturday of the 2017 season that Jacks truly announced himself to cricketing world.

Opening the batting against Reading Blue Coat School he scored 279 off 138 balls, smashing 19 sixes and 29 fours. St George’s finished their 50 overs on 531, not surprisingly, a school record. His innings was also the highest individual score in the school’s history, a record that the now-21-year-old was very much aware of at the time.

“When I was in my first year at the school I scored 221 for the under-14s, which was one run below the school record.” Jacks tells The Cricketer, “so, this time I made sure I got past that and then carried on swinging.”

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Since school Jacks has been able to hit a long-ball

Jacks, now a member of the Surrey first-team squad, enjoyed a breakout summer in 2019. He grabbed further attention in a pre-season 10-over game against Lancashire where he scored a century off just 25 balls – including six sixes in an over. The innings was not officially recorded but it was thought to be the fastest-ever hundred in a match between two professional sides.

Just 20 at the time, his comparative youth was no obstacle, just as it wasn’t in his early years at St George’s.

“Life was good in the under-14s.” Jacks laughs. “In my first year, I played with my own age-group and had a really good year. I think I broke the school record for most runs in a season, so it couldn’t have gone any better.

“Then towards the end of the season I was promoted to the first team. It was quite daunting initially. I had only just turned 14 and was playing with 18-year-olds. Half of them played in the 1st XV rugby team so were massive. It was quite intimidating.”

But it wasn’t long before he settled in and started putting in match-winning performances.

“I think it was my third game, against Trinity College, Croydon. I got to my half-century with the winning run. That was a huge boost to my confidence.

“Then in the next game we played the Old Georgians, who are the old boys team. I scored a hundred and I think that made me the youngest person to ever score a century for the first team.

“I loved playing for [them]. I was a little kid playing with adults and it felt amazing. It was a brilliant experience.”

Jacks went on to become the school’s defining cricketer, an example to all those who follow him. His talent was first spotted by Mike Harrison who was the school’s head of cricket when he arrived. Although it would be difficult to overlook any 14-year-old on the back of a double-hundred, the confidence shown by Harrison in Jacks was admirable.

That would be Harrison’s final summer in charge of the St George’s side, as he was replaced by Oliver Clayson.

“Mr Clayson was there until I left. We were very close and we have stayed in touch. He was my P.E. teacher at A-Level and we developed a good relationship. And since school he has been a good friend,” Jacks reflects.

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Jacks is now a firm part of Surrey's squad and spent the winter with England Lions

By that time, it was obvious that Jacks would go on to bigger things and he is keen to credit the Surrey pathways.

“I didn’t find it hard to decide; when I was 14 I really set my sights on professional cricket.” he admits.

“It was at the time when Dom Sibley scored a double-hundred in only his third first-class game. We had played together in the academy and against one another at club level, so he showed me it was possible to make it from club and school cricket to the professional game.

“I knew what I had to do.”

Jacks considered his school performances to be an important part of his progression through the ranks.

“The aim at school was to improve my game and score as many runs as possible. I felt I should be dominating.

“I played in a Surrey academy game the day after my innings against Reading Blue Coat. Alec Stewart was there and he mentioned that he had heard all about my innings. It was amazing for an 18-year-old to be noticed by him, as a coach as well as a legend of the game.”

His school career was a constant juggle between school and county commitments. He committed to Surrey academy training three times a week, leaving homework to be completed at weekends, but the Surrey batsman has no doubts about the significant role St George’s played in his development.

“They provided me with the opportunity to learn how to score runs regularly. And this helped me get noticed by counties. They keep a close eye on schools cricket and it was good to know that they were aware that I was still in form.”

Jacks has gone on to achieve plenty in such a short amount of time in the professional game, and this is surely just the start.

“A lot of my mates have gone on to university. I’ve been to visit them a few times and it’s a fun but different lifestyle,” he says.

“But it hasn’t been hard at all seeing them live that life. I have wanted to be a cricketer for so long and now I am one, it’s amazing. I just want to keep getting better and better.”

The Cricketer would like to thank Durant Cricket for their ongoing support of our schools cricket coverage. For more on Durant Cricket, including booking a site visit, please click here

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