The dismissal of Jack Leach with what turned out to be the final ball of the fourth day of England’s first Test against New Zealand was simply the cherry on top of the tourists’ particularly bitter cake.

As well as the impact on England’s wickets column, the moment had symbolic value too. Here was England’s summertime saviour, who has so often bailed them out with the bat, lopped off with the closing act of an already demoralising day.

To add insult to injury, replays after the fact called into question the umpire’s decision. Leach was given out caught in close on the leg-side after apparently inside-edging onto his pad, but none of the technology available indicated any contact.

“Whether he hit it or not, who knows?” said Michael Atherton, commentating on Sky Sports Cricket. “There’s nothing on Hot Spot, there seems to be a gap between bat and pad.”

Leach himself seemed unconvinced and considered reviewing, but instead chose to tuck his bat under his arm and walk off. The binary nature of the technology used for ‘caught’ dismissals means going upstairs is more likely to cost a review, and a nightwatchman wasting one of two potentially pivotal referrals is considered a cardinal sin. While he clearly felt he hadn’t made contact, there are also countless occasions of batsmen not knowing when they’ve hit it, and unable to be certain, Leach took his leave.

What a day for Mitch Santner.

He follows his maiden Test century with three crucial wickets late in the day.pic.twitter.com/v8INX1zRlE

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) November 24, 2019

“He’s not sure, but he can’t afford to waste a review if he’s not sure,” said Atherton’s co-commentator Simon Doull, but he went on to praise Leach for following his head over his heart.

“He hasn’t hit it. If he wasn’t sure, it’s such a courageous thing to do to just walk off. He’ll be bitterly disappointed, Jack Leach. He wasn’t sure he hit it. It’s such a selfless thing to do. He’s made the call for his teammates there. That is incredibly selfless, and incredibly hard to do.”

The left-arm spinner takes great pride in his batting, and has shown himself to be a gritty, hard-to-remove operator. Arguably, he might have earned a bit of self-indulgence in the name of self-preservation, and could have been excused a spurned review if he felt wronged.

Instead, he opted for self-sacrifice, putting the team first, and somehow making the right choice even as he made the wrong decision. Reviewing would have extended Leach’s stay at the crease, but not doing so should endear him ever further into the hearts of England supporters.