Jack Leach has been ruled out of the Ashes and England are considering a raft of options including asking Moeen Ali to reverse his Test retirement
Jack Leach has been dramatically ruled out of the Ashes with a lower back stress fracture, and England are considering a raft of options including askingWith just 11 days to the opening Test at Edgbaston, Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum have been left desperately searching the 18 counties for a spinning replacement. Other candidates include Rehan Ahmed, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson or even recent white-ball specialist Adil Rashid.
He is the only bowler to have played all 13 Tests in the Bazball era – taking 45 wickets, including a first 10-wicket haul against New Zealand at Headingley last summer – and his ability to bowl long spells was looking more crucial than ever with question marks still hanging over Stokes’s bowling fitness.
Leach’s Test career has been revitalised under the leadership of Stokes – with whom he shared the victorious 10‑wicket stand during the Headingley Test of 2019 . Stokes has encouraged an attacking mindset, set attacking fields, and trusted his man; Leach has visibly grown in confidence. “I feel like I belong in the team now,” he said in an interview in the Lord’s Ireland Test programme.
The stress fracture is the latest in a long line of health issues that Leach has had to negotiate during his career. He has suffered from Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory bowel disease, and had to be substituted out of the first Test of the Bazball era with concussion after landing on his head fielding on the boundary.
He broke a thumb in the nets the day before he would have been picked for his first home Test in 2019 and, in his comeback match for Somerset, was hit on the head by Surrey’s Morne Morkel and ruled out of the rest of the game with concussion. He then contracted sepsis, and went into hospital, during England’s tour of New Zealand in November 2019.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
England v Ireland: Test match, day three – liveOver-by-over report: Join our writers as the hosts look to wrap up victory in short order on the third day at Lord’s
Read more »
Universal basic income of £1,600 a month to be trialled in two places in EnglandScheme to run for two years and participants will be monitored to see what effect it has on mental and physical health
Read more »
Breakfasting with the stars: how the famous got their day goingFor Marilyn Monroe it was eggs in a glass of milk, for Muhammad Ali it was steak… Rebecca Seal reveals what seven great figures from history had for breakfast - and how you can make it for yourself
Read more »
Bruce Lehrmann says he hasn't ruled out suing Brittany Higgins over rape allegation he deniesFormer Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann says he may still sue Brittany Higgins personally for defamation, in his first television interview since she accused him of raping her at Parliament House in 2019.
Read more »
Warner to retire from Test cricket this summerBreaking | With his place under threat entering the Ashes tour, David Warner has revealed he plans to retire from Test cricket at home this summer.
Read more »
Thirty years on, Shane Warne’s ball of the century echoes far beyond cricket | Andy BullSunday marks the 30th anniversary of Mike Gatting’s Ashes dismissal, a sporting moment quoted in songs, poems and Hansard
Read more »