'He made a wrong decision, now wants his cricket to do the talking': Will Jacks on Brook

England's white-ball captain Harry Brook has had a turbulent winter, but inside the dressing room the support remains unequivocal. England's unraveling in the Ashes series in Australia was followed by off-field controversy, with news emerging that their star batter Brook was involved in an altercation with a nightclub bouncer just hours before an ODI in Wellington. The matter resurfaced recently after England's white-ball captain admitted he had lied about being alone during the incident.

Despite the scrutiny, Brook has played a central role in England's ODI and T20I series wins in Sri Lanka, and the squad heads into their T20 World Cup opener against Nepal in Mumbai with confidence intact and eyeing an unprecedented third crown. Will Jacks, speaking on the eve of the tournament, said Brook had acknowledged his mistake and was determined to move forward.

"He's made a wrong decision but he's accepted that and we're now trying to move forward in a positive direction," Jacks said. "He's making amends on the pitch and we will back him 100 per cent. I think his kind of character is looking at the brighter side of life.

"He knows what he's done and there's nothing you can change about that, so there's no point focusing on it too much. He wants his cricket to do the talking."

Coming to the cricket, Jacks was optimistic that the No.2 T20I batter Phil Salt, who missed the final T20I against Sri Lanka due to a back spasm, would be fit to start the tournament. Salt returned to batting in the nets on Friday and is expected to open alongside Jos Buttler on Sunday. If England do take a cautious approach with him, Ben Duckett is likely to be preferred over Tom Banton, with Jacks also an option at the top.

Jacks, however, said he was settled in his current role further down the order. Since Brook's appointment as captain, the all-rounder has been pushed to No. 7 and has shouldered greater bowling responsibility. His off-spin came under pressure during the 2024 T20 World Cup, but Jacks said increased bowling time has helped him grow, particularly after operating as England's frontline spinner during parts of the Ashes.

"The more I've bowled, simply the more I'm going to get more comfortable and understand spin bowling in general," he said. "I know the last T20 World Cup was talked about, how Australia got after me, but that's part of the game. At some stage everyone's going to get a bit of tap in a T20. You just have to move on and take it in your stride. I've developed since then."

Jacks added that bowling in the Ashes, even in a different format, had accelerated his learning. "Bowling at players of that quality is only going to be a good thing for my bowling."