After becoming the first player to score a century in a recorded T10 match, Will Jacks said he did not even think about the milestone until he was on 98 not out, “because it all happened quite quickly”.
The 20-year-old batsman reached three figures in 25 balls for Surrey against Lancashire in the first match of a four-team T10 tournament at the ICC Academy in Dubai.
Included in his deluge of sixes were six in one over off the bowling of Stephen Parry, the Lancashire left-arm spinner.
Jacks went to his century off the last ball of the sixth over, at such a hasty strike-rate he might be forgiven for losing track himself.
“Not at all,” Jacks said when asked if he had thought reaching three figures in a 10-over match had been possible before the match started.
“We hadn’t really thought about it, but Jade [Dernbach, the Surrey bowler] has played in the T10 League, so he has seen it, and we were chatting saying 120 to 130 was an average score.
“I went out to try and have fun, really, that was it, and didn’t think about the hundred until I was on 98, because it all happened quite quickly.
“It is something completely new, and I just thought I’d go out and have some fun. And it was good fun.”
Jacks said he did start to think about the perfect over once he had hit Parry, who played for England at the T20 World Cup in 2014, for four sixes in a row.
Parry had bowled a wide off the first ball, meaning his over went for 37 in all – which is the second time that has happened in the UAE this season, after Hazratullah Zazai’s effort in the Afghanistan Premier League in Sharjah.
“After the fourth sixth, I was thinking I had a real chance here,” Jacks said.
“Then the fifth one just snuck over, and I gave it everything on the last one, and that snuck over as well.”
At the start of the day, the young right-hander was a little-known player in a squad full of international cricket stars.
By 2.30pm, his was the autograph being sought most eagerly by a number of schoolkids who had witnessed his display at the ICC Academy.
“It is nice to have people appreciate that you have done well, but it was just good luck that I had done well and performed when they came to watch,” Jacks said.
Surrey eventually posted 176 for three from their 10 overs, before bowling Lancashire out for 81 to win by 95 runs.
The tournament, which also involved the UAE national team and an Abu Dhabi T20 select XI, was originally scheduled to be played in the Twenty20 format.
But it was switched to the new, 10-over version in the days leading up to it, at the request of the organisers of the T10 league.
Earlier in the week it had been announced a deal had been agreed to move the annual 10-over competition from Sharjah, where its first two seasons had taken place, to Abu Dhabi.
The competition will be played exclusively in the capital for the next five years. It is safe to assume Jacks might now be attracting the interest of the eight franchises ahead of the competition’s third campaign in October.
There was much debate last November, when a cast of world stars played at the competition in Sharjah, whether a player could score a century in a 10-over innings.
Sherfane Rutherford, the West Indian left-hander, had managed the feat in a practice match in the lead up to the event, but Alex Hales’ 87 not out was the highest managed in competition.
After achieving the feat, Jacks revealed that he had considered entering his name into the draft for the 2018 T10, only to opt instead for a winter playing club cricket in Australia.
“I thought about putting myself in for the T10 League, but we decided against it, and I went and had a winter in Perth instead,” Jacks said.
“I think that was the right thing to do. Having played well over there, I think I developed quite a bit, so that was the right decision.”
Profile of RentSher
Started: October 2015 in India, November 2016 in UAE
Founders: Harsh Dhand; Vaibhav and Purvashi Doshi
Based: Bangalore, India and Dubai, UAE
Sector: Online rental marketplace
Size: 40 employees
Investment: $2 million
Jumanji: The Next Level
Director: Jake Kasdan
Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Jack Black, Nick Jonas
Two out of five stars
More from Aya Iskandarani
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
Where to submit a sample
Volunteers of all ages can submit DNA samples at centres across Abu Dhabi, including: Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec), Biogenix Labs in Masdar City, NMC Royal Hospital in Khalifa City, NMC Royal Medical Centre, Abu Dhabi, NMC Royal Women's Hospital, Bareen International Hospital, Al Towayya in Al Ain, NMC Specialty Hospital, Al Ain
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202-litre%204-cylinder%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E153hp%20at%206%2C000rpm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E200Nm%20at%204%2C000rpm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E6-speed%20auto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E6.3L%2F100km%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDh106%2C900%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
more from Janine di Giovanni
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: 2018 Jeep Compass
Price, base: Dh100,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.4L four-cylinder
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 184bhp at 6,400rpm
Torque: 237Nm at 3,900rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.4L / 100km
if you go
The flights
Flydubai offers three daily direct flights to Sarajevo and, from June, a daily flight from Thessaloniki from Dubai. A return flight costs from Dhs1,905 including taxes.
The trip
The Travel Scientists are the organisers of the Balkan Ride and several other rallies around the world. The 2018 running of this particular adventure will take place from August 3-11, once again starting in Sarajevo and ending a week later in Thessaloniki. If you’re driving your own vehicle, then entry start from €880 (Dhs 3,900) per person including all accommodation along the route. Contact the Travel Scientists if you wish to hire one of their vehicles.
6.30pm Meydan Classic Trial US$100,000 (Turf) 1,400m
Winner Bella Fever, Dane O’Neill (jockey), Mike de Kock (trainer).
7.05pm Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Woven, Harry Bentley, David Simcock.
7.40pm UAE 2000 Guineas Group Three $250,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
Winner Fore Left, William Buick, Doug O’Neill.
8.15pm Dubai Sprint Listed Handicap $175,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner Rusumaat, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi.
8.50pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 Group Two $450,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner Benbatl, Christophe Soumillon, Saeed bin Suroor.
9.25pm Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,800m
Winner Art Du Val, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
10pm Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Beyond Reason, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
More from Neighbourhood Watch
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
FROM%20THE%20ASHES
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Khalid%20Fahad%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Shaima%20Al%20Tayeb%2C%20Wafa%20Muhamad%2C%20Hamss%20Bandar%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
ENGLAND SQUAD
For first two Test in India Joe Root (captain), Jofra Archer, Moeen Ali, James Anderson , Dom Bess, Stuart Broad , Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes. Reserves James Bracey, Mason Crane, Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Robinson, Amar Virdi.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now