Phil Jaques

The retirement of Justin Langer from Test cricket raised the big question in Australian cricket: who should open with Matthew Hayden? Left-hander Phil Jaques arrived with an answer to the question as he smashed two consecutive Test tons against Sri Lanka in 2007. Australian cricket legends believe he has the potential to be the next Adam Gilchrist.

With an attacking batting style and compact technique, Jaques piled on several runs for the Australian A side. The southpaw is a stronger player against spin bowling and likes to dominate the proceedings from the start of his innings. In the limited-overs version of the game, Jaques has not had much luck as he averages a meagre 20.83 in 6 ODIs. The left-handed opener has a hunger for big scores and once he gets started, it is hard for the opposition to stop the run flow.

Jaques has had a flair for county cricket and has been playing for various teams throughout his playing career. In 2012, he was included in Yorkshire’s T20 squad ahead of that year’s Champions League T20.