The last image of Jack Leach on the subcontinent prior to England’s opening Test in Multan last week was a decidedly sorry one.
Limping out of Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium after England had recorded a nearly impossible win against India, it was soon confirmed his series was over, his knee damaged during another aborted attempt to nail his place in the side.
Nearly nine months later, the victory portrait was markedly different. As England completed another remarkable triumph, Leach took the final three Pakistan wickets of the match in just 23 deliveries. His seven wickets in the match were in contrast to just one from Shoaib Bashir, with Leach’s holding role proving invaluable on a flat surface in comparison to the attacking way England used their spinners in India.
And yet how much more of Leach in an England shirt will we see? Having outbowled his county teammate in both innings, he should be given the remaining two Tests regardless of the balance England choose to go with. But, going forward, a three-Test series in New Zealand this December seems an unlikely winter-sun destination for the 33-year-old who is undeniably now seen as a second spinner in most conditions.
Bashir’s star has risen significantly since making his debut in India last January at the expense of the injured Leach. That elevated release point and the cool head on young shoulders combined with a knack of bowling Swann-esque deliveries is England’s preferred mode of turn for the international stage. Justifiably so after a better than decent start to life in the Test side both at home and away.
England have completed a memorable win in Multan 💪
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) October 11, 2024
Scorecard: https://t.co/8HfGsRJPTc#PAKvENG pic.twitter.com/h20xt2yWaq
The messaging from the England camp since Leach’s injury in the India series has been crystal clear. Bashir is their man for all seasons, the young gun they will back to go to the Ashes next year ahead of the 33-year-old who often keeps him out of county XIs. His five-for on home soil against the West Indies was the vindication Stokes needed to stick with the 20-year-old, who has now played just one more game in county cricket than he has in Tests.
Nevertheless, battling against the other young spinners they took to India last year, Leach not only fought his way back into the squad for the Pakistan series, but has now made himself difficult to drop for the next two Test matches. After his injury earlier in the year and subsequent surgery, he went back to Taunton, and began the long road back to the international stage by performing for Somerset as ever. He carried his excellent campaign in the One Day Cup into September’s red-ball rounds, taking 12 wickets against Durham and nine against Surrey. Once England decided to move away from the spin-bowling all-rounder ploy they used last time out in Pakistan, Leach couldn’t not be picked.
The crux of the issue is the type of players England have opted to select over the last two years, and how Leach’s established role fits into that. It’s players like Rehan Ahmed, Bashir, Brydon Carse, Josh Hull, who aren’t the finished article but who England see as having high ceilings given the correct backing, that get the nod. There’s perhaps a feeling that, over his seven years now as a Test cricketer, Leach has reached his ceiling, and is now someone to fall back on, rather than invest in for the future.
But, Leach must be considered more than the cult figure his glasses cloth made him in 2019. His overall record of 133 Test wickets at a shade above 34 is solid enough, and 11 wins out of his 14 appearances in Asia is bordering on the spectacular. He is their dependable man when conditions dictate his necessity, the one that allows them to include the unknown quantities. Over the next two years however, the demand for that role will likely decrease.
After the series in Pakistan, England are not scheduled to visit Asia for another two-and-a-half years, with a tour of Bangladesh penciled in for February 2027. There is plenty of cricket to be played before the Ashes trip next year, but you would imagine that, barring disaster, it will be Bashir’s gig.
Is this a farewell tour of sorts then? Or the final opportunity to prove his excellence and set the record straight before falling back into the county fog? Perhaps those flashes of brilliance, the catlike caught and bowled of Shaheen Shah Afridi in the dying moments of Multan, will give way to a wistful sense of what could have been if not for freak injuries, illnesses and sliding doors moments. Or perhaps, Leach was what served England well as they transitioned into their current incarnation, but can’t quite fit neatly into the puzzle for the future. Regardless, Leach has shown his tenacity and raw skill as England’s dependable man once again, and that shows his present worth in itself.
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