Phil Jaques was holidaying on Queensland's Hamilton Island with his partner, the Australia football representative Danielle Small, when the Test call finally came to satisfy an early-career gamble. A British passport holder, Jaques was the victim of a country tug-o-war in 2003 after scoring 1409 County Championship runs with Northamptonshire, but he refused to commit to England because "my heart says Australia".

Jaques, the left-handed opener, maintained such a consistent standard with New South Wales [1191 runs in 2004-05] and Yorkshire [1359 in 2005 and 1118 in 2004] that when Justin Langer was ruled out of the Boxing Day Test against South Africa in 2005-06 Trevor Hohns said simply: "Phil virtually demanded selection."

Jaques had to introduce himself to Ponting before his Test debut, but his reputation had already excited the Australian captain, and Steve Waugh believes he has the potential to be the next Adam Gilchrist. "Australia is lucky to have a player like him coming through," Waugh said. "He is the prototype for young players." However, his first game was a quiet one - he walked after squirting Shaun Pollock to short leg for 2 and improved with 28 in the second innings. Another opportunity came in the second Test in Bangladesh in 2006 and he produced a capable 66.

With an attacking mindset and home-made technique, he has shown the ability to score big runs on northern English greentops and hard-baked pitches in Australia and Pakistan, where he toured with Australia A in 2005 and 2007. Injuries have provided him with openings throughout his career - he made his first-class debut with 40 at No. 10 as a late addition against Queensland in 2000-01 - and a Simon Katich groin problem was responsible for his one-day international call-up in the middle of the 2005-06 VB Series. His stunning 94 was the highest score by an Australian first-gamer, but he was harshly dropped when Katich recovered.

The next ODI was a jet-lagged memory after he was summoned to South Africa, scored zero and went home as soon as Ricky Ponting's stomach improved. Trips to Malaysia and New Zealand also brought more green and gold caps without much satisfaction. In 2006-07 he struck 987 Pura Cup runs at 47.00 and boosted his summer with two centuries against the touring England in three days. After Langer retired Jaques finally got a chance to seal a Test spot and he did it with a couple of centuries against Sri Lanka that showed his range. His 100 at the Gabba was full of first-day determination and the 150 in Hobart was in the biffing mode that has dominated domestic attacks.
Peter English December 2007

State Player of the Year - 2006

• Old and new faces share the load (Jun 17, 2008)
  
• Katich and Jaques demoralise West Indies (Jun 14, 2008)
  
• Jaques discovers perfect timing (Jun 14, 2008)
  
• Katich fit for third Test (Jun 7, 2008)
  
• Lee sparks Australian surge (Jun 2, 2008)
  

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Jun 15, 2008 Phil Jaques took a smart catch to give Beau Casson his first wicket © Getty Images

Jun 14, 2008 Phil Jaques pulls past short leg on the way to his century © Getty Images

Jun 14, 2008 Phil Jaques made a hundred to help Australia increase their lead © AFP

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