Jack Leach training for England on their Test series in New Zealand

After a winter spent in and out of England's Test side, Jack Leach speaks to Wisden.com about his bid to regain his place, and nailing the simple things.

“I knew I might get asked this today, and I still don’t really know how to answer it,” Jack Leach tells Wisden.com when asked what role he might play for England over the next nine months.

“I feel like there might be more to come from me, but I’m not the one making that decision. I have to keep performing well and hope that gets noticed because there’s an element of – they know what I can offer. But I would like to think that there’s a little bit more in the tank, and maybe a couple more gears to go through.”

Leach is no stranger to answering questions about uncertainty over his England future. Having been dropped by England for their home summer last year after injuries kept him out of the side for all but two of their Tests over the previous 18 months, he was picked again for their series in Pakistan, and took more wickets across the three-Test tour than all of England’s other spinners combined. Particularly notable was that it was a tour where his Somerset teammate Shoaib Bashir – the man England fast-tracked over him after their tour to India earlier in the year – struggled to repay the considerable faith invested in him.

There were notable successes for Leach in Pakistan. On the final day of the win in Multan, Leach took four wickets to roll Pakistan on a day-five pitch in less than seven overs. He again outbowled Bashir in the second Test, making early breakthroughs with the new ball on day one and consistently attacking the stumps. When the name of the game was patience and persistence, Leach’s gentle variations and consistent lengths won out over Bashir’s natural but raw attributes.

Nevertheless, Leach was outbowled by the Pakistan pair of Noman Ali and Sajid Khan, who ripped through England twice on dust-bowls which had spent days drying out under fans in the run-up to the games. While Leach gave a qualified reminder of his credentials, it was an opportunity missed in helpful conditions to show a fast-paced team that his dependability will be more valuable to England in the long term than the promise of fleeting bursts of brilliance from Bashir.

“I’m a pretty orthodox spinner,” Leach says. “I’m not going to be bowling leggies or doosras or that kind of thing. For me, the basics are the basics, and I think my subtle variations in angle, line, pace and these kinds of things – that’s always been what I’ve done. And that’s what I want to continue to do well, and that’s good enough for me.”

When the tour to New Zealand rolled around after Pakistan, it was Bashir who got the nod while Leach resumed his seat on the sidelines. Potential won out over stability. While Leach is clearly a well-liked member of the group – he’s previously said he received a phone call from Stokes over the summer he was out of the squad “telling me how great I was” – that type of popularity hasn’t been enough to outweigh the lure of the Bashir punt.

Their order of international preference, however, is reversed at Somerset, which now gives Leach his best chance of breaking back into a team environment he covets above all else. Bashir has had to seek out options on loan in Division Two for the start of the 2025 season, just as he had to find opportunities for game time elsewhere last year. The requirements of a spin attack on April and May Championship wickets favour Leach’s skillset, and with Archie Vaughan providing another viable spin option in a side hoping to challenge for the title, there’s no room for Bashir.

“As a sportsman, you always want to push for more,” Leach says. “I think I’ll always play cricket wanting to play for England. I grew up playing for Somerset and it took me a while to do that. That was always the dream and then I looked at England and thought – maybe that’s an opportunity for me. It wouldn’t be natural for me to not be looking at that.

“But I’m very realistic. The only way I’m going to do that again is by bowling really well, probably better than I ever have because I’ve got to show a little bit more. It probably wasn’t enough the first time, or however you look at it. Can I do what I can do even better? That will be down to the simple things like keeping my mind clear and not putting too much pressure on myself.

“I’ve got my appraisal next week, so I’ll speak to Rob Key then and maybe find out a few more things on that. They’ve been very busy with white-ball cricket and red-ball cricket has taken a bit of a backseat. Naturally there hasn’t been much communication, but I let them do their thing and then catch up with them. I’m excited for what’s to come.”

England have big questions to answer over their spin attack for this summer and the Ashes. While Bashir rewarded the faith shown in him last year in India with good returns last summer, his innocuousness across the winter was a concern. Bowling spin in Australia, moreover, if you’re not called Nathan Lyon, is increasingly a fool’s errand: in the last 10 years all overseas spinners have a combined average of 63 in Australia. England’s telegraphed plans to field a different type of pace attack to that which has featured in their last three Ashes tour drubbings suggest that a specialist spinner may be the one who makes way.

Leach’s only sample series in Australia doesn’t make for good reading. He was mauled in Brisbane, primarily by Travis Head, conceding 102 runs from just 13 overs and, until his last innings in the series, had taken two wickets in three games. As a player used to overcoming significant barriers on multiple fronts to further his international career, reclaiming his place this time will be his biggest challenge yet.

But it’s also worth remembering just how effective those simple things Leach prioritises have been for England in the past, even if it’s questionable that they’re still looking for them. Leach was integral to some of those dazzling early wins under Stokes and McCullum. While Headingley 2022 will forever be remembered as part of Jonny Bairstow’s summer rampage, it was Leach who won the Player of the Match award in that game with a 10-wicket haul. At Rawalpindi at the scene of one of England's greatest away wins, it was Leach who struck the final blow as light ran out on day five. It was also Leach who took seven wickets in Karachi to seal a historic series win in Pakistan. Perhaps there is still room for his type of role in a side that likes to get creative, holding up an end while the funky stuff comes from the other. It’s that role he has to convince McCullum and co of, diverting their focus from the pull of the Bashir punt with the wider possibilities he brings.

“You’ve got to be careful about how you answer that,” says Leach about what makes the current England set-up special to him. “I think there’s a misconception of what it’s actually like compared to how people talk about it.

“I’ve just felt very lucky to have met Baz and to see a completely different outlook on things. It gives you massive perspective and reminds you why you play the game… I feel very lucky that Baz and Stokesy backed me for as long as they did, and we won a huge amount of games in that time. To be part of that was amazing and it leaves you motivated to have more of it.”

Despite priding himself as a “decent” team man - “it’s not all about me,” he says - being on the park has to be the ultimate aim. The next couple of months will bring an opportunity for Leach to show what gears he has left to go through, out in the middle.

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