Will Jacks will play his first Test in three years, as he replaces the injured Mark Wood in England's only change for the second Ashes Test.

England suffered a heavy eight-wicket defeat to Australia in the first Test, which lasted just two days, with the hosts easily chasing down their target.

Wood has since been ruled out of the second Test, which begins on Thursday, with a knee problem.

Jacks has been included to give England a spin option, with his batting ability also offering England more depth, after being selected ahead of Shoaib Bashir for the day-night match at the Gabba.

However, Jacks has primarily focused on white-ball cricket over the last three years, and is set to earn just his third cap in the longest format.

We've made one change to our XI for the second Test...

Enter stage right, Will Jacks

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) December 2, 2025

"Everyone knows what a brilliant cricketer he is," said Ollie Pope.

"The way he's grown over the last few years, we've seen his white-ball game really go forward. It's a great opportunity for his red-ball, too.

"He's obviously got that style of spin bowling where he can get some bounce and turn off the pitch, then everyone has seen the skills he's got in the white-ball format. He can take on a really good attack."

Australia, meanwhile, have confirmed that Usman Khawaja has been ruled out of the second Test after failing to recover from back spasms he suffered in Perth.

Reports suggest Josh Inglis will replace him in the side, but Australia will not call up a replacement for Khawaja, who is set to continue his rehabilitation with the squad.

England team for second Ashes Test: Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wk), Will Jacks, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer.