Chief selector Marcus North has said England are 'focussing on a different direction' than Jack Leach in Tests despite the spinner's impressive county returns.
North's comments could signal the end of Leach's international career, after the Somerset spinner was left off the list of ECB central contracts this week. Spinners Shoaib Bashir, Rehan Ahmed, Mason Crane and Liam Patterson-White all received contracts, as well as Dan Lawrence, who was England's spinner in their Test series against Pakistan.
England have announced their list of men’s central contracts for 2026/27, with 39 players earning deals 🏴 https://t.co/8lKqcgiwYn
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Leach has not played a Test match for England since their tour to Pakistan in 2024, and has only played one Test in England since 2023. With England set to tour Bangladesh this winter, where multiple spinners are expected to be used, Leach was in line for a potential recall. He took 36 wickets in the County Championship for Somerset this season, adding to the 52 he picked up in the 2025 season.
Speaking exclusively on Wisden Cricket Weekly podcast, however, North cast doubts on a potential recall for Leach. "We've seen him [Leach] at international level with England, he continues to do exceptionally well at Somerset," said North. "But as it stands now, those selections around the development contracts and the central contract list show that we're focusing on a slightly different direction."
England selected Lawrence as their spinner in an attempt to balance their Test side after Ben Stokes' retirement this summer. With Jacob Bethell set to return to the side for their series in South Africa, they are expected to continue with Lawrence, Bethell and Joe Root as their spin attack. North, however, indicated others could come into play for the series in Bangladesh in February.
"We've got a really important series in Bangladesh, which is going to challenge the current balance of the side," said North. "They [Bangladesh] are a good cricket team now, a good Test team. It's not just going over there and facing good spinners; they've got some very good quicks, so we know that's going to be a good test. But we need to have a squad that can give us all options in those conditions as well."
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"We've got Lions cricket in the Caribbean, we've got a couple of four day Test matches and Lions cricket in South Africa in December. I would see Liam Patterson-White, Mason Crane, Rehan [Ahmed], Bashir, all getting opportunities over the coming months. We're looking at other development opportunities for them too, so when it comes time to have that selection around Bangladesh, we've got all options on the table.
"That's where we want to get [to]. To have the depth so that we can some really good robust discussions around the type of skillset we're looking for, the balance of the side, how much are they specifically just spinners, how much they bring with the bat, and how does that work with multiple selection and balances around teams."
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