Latest news with #JackLeach
Sydney Morning Herald
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
He's done a Harmy: Ashes omens and injuries mount for England bowlers
Atkinson didn't miss a beat, finishing with 2-31 and running out Shubman Gill in his follow-through - a calamitous turn for India as they finished day one at 6-204 on a vivid London green top. England are leading the series 2-1, though a seam-friendly Oval pitch should offer a result to keep Indian hopes of a drawn campaign alive. For all the theatrics, hand-wringing over handshakes, sledging and grandstanding of a cranky, combative series, England's bowlers have endured an especially wearying summer. Stokes' supreme all-round efforts, Jofra Archer's carefully managed return and Tongue's first-Test scalps aside, this has been a batter's campaign. At The Oval Tongue mixed a couple of peaches with deliveries sprayed both sides of the stumps as he and Jamie Overton struggled with their footing in greasy conditions. In all England conceded 30 extras after a summer of supreme batting pitches had worn down bowlers on both sides of the ledger - both Jofra Archer and Jasprit Bumrah are being rested for the final Test. Stokes' predicted 10-week recovery time from a shoulder injury followed 140 overs from the English skipper - easily the most he has ever bowled in a series. He and Woakes are both expected to be fit for November's Ashes, but will have precious little time leading into it once they're back in full training. Australia has their own problems at the top-order - chiefly a lack of runs and standout replacements to step in for those not scoring them. And veteran tweaker Nathan Lyon could see the folly in answering a question on England's spin stocks during a Westpac sponsorship announcement in soggy Sydney on Thursday. But offered his thoughts anyway. Loading 'I know you guys are going to run with it,' Lyon said, 'but in my eyes Jack Leach is still their best spinner.' Leach hasn't played a Test since October last year, but Lyon favours his control despite 1.93cm Shoaib Bashir already being anointed England's No.1 spinner for the Australian summer, in hope of his bounce replicating the bounce Lyon extracts from his home pitches. 'Bashir has been OK … Jacob Bethell is playing in this Test match and he looks like he'll take up the spin bowling. (There's also) Liam Dawson. 'But in my eyes Jack Leach is still their best spinner… That's nothing against Bashir or Liam Dawson or anything like that. I just feel like Jack Leach is a high-class spinner.' Lyon went on to acknowledge the 'massive role' a touring spinner can play in Australia, and the struggles of champions like Muttiah Muralitharan, Graeme Swann and Harbhajan Singh. 'It can be a massive challenge for people who haven't done it in the past in these conditions,' Lyon said. 'But I'm not going to let the secrets out so they come out here and perform well.'
The Age
2 hours ago
- Sport
- The Age
He's done a Harmy: Ashes omens and injuries mount for England bowlers
Atkinson didn't miss a beat, finishing with 2-31 and running out Shubman Gill in his follow-through - a calamitous turn for India as they finished day one at 6-204 on a vivid London green top. England are leading the series 2-1, though a seam-friendly Oval pitch should offer a result to keep Indian hopes of a drawn campaign alive. For all the theatrics, hand-wringing over handshakes, sledging and grandstanding of a cranky, combative series, England's bowlers have endured an especially wearying summer. Stokes' supreme all-round efforts, Jofra Archer's carefully managed return and Tongue's first-Test scalps aside, this has been a batter's campaign. At The Oval Tongue mixed a couple of peaches with deliveries sprayed both sides of the stumps as he and Jamie Overton struggled with their footing in greasy conditions. In all England conceded 30 extras after a summer of supreme batting pitches had worn down bowlers on both sides of the ledger - both Jofra Archer and Jasprit Bumrah are being rested for the final Test. Stokes' predicted 10-week recovery time from a shoulder injury followed 140 overs from the English skipper - easily the most he has ever bowled in a series. He and Woakes are both expected to be fit for November's Ashes, but will have precious little time leading into it once they're back in full training. Australia has their own problems at the top-order - chiefly a lack of runs and standout replacements to step in for those not scoring them. And veteran tweaker Nathan Lyon could see the folly in answering a question on England's spin stocks during a Westpac sponsorship announcement in soggy Sydney on Thursday. But offered his thoughts anyway. Loading 'I know you guys are going to run with it,' Lyon said, 'but in my eyes Jack Leach is still their best spinner.' Leach hasn't played a Test since October last year, but Lyon favours his control despite 1.93cm Shoaib Bashir already being anointed England's No.1 spinner for the Australian summer, in hope of his bounce replicating the bounce Lyon extracts from his home pitches. 'Bashir has been OK … Jacob Bethell is playing in this Test match and he looks like he'll take up the spin bowling. (There's also) Liam Dawson. 'But in my eyes Jack Leach is still their best spinner… That's nothing against Bashir or Liam Dawson or anything like that. I just feel like Jack Leach is a high-class spinner.' Lyon went on to acknowledge the 'massive role' a touring spinner can play in Australia, and the struggles of champions like Muttiah Muralitharan, Graeme Swann and Harbhajan Singh. 'It can be a massive challenge for people who haven't done it in the past in these conditions,' Lyon said. 'But I'm not going to let the secrets out so they come out here and perform well.'
Indian Express
12 hours ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
‘In my eyes Jack Leach is England's best spinner': Nathan Lyon
England left-arm spinner Jack Leach, most famous for his last-wicket stand with Ben Stokes in the epic Ashes Test at Headingley, might have slipped down the hierarchy in the Bazball era. But Australia's off-spinning legend Nathan Lyon believes the spectacled tweaker is England's best bet in the Ashes tour later this year. In a press conference for a sponsorship event, he said: 'In my eyes, Jack Leach is still their best spinner.' He explains the reason, while not berating the skills of England's spinner-in-chief Shoaib Bashir: 'It is a massive role, and it can be a massive challenge for people who haven't done it in the past in these conditions,' Lyon said of spin bowling in Australia. 'But I'm not going to let my secrets out so they come out and perform well out here. Our guys know how to play spin really well in this country. That's probably what helped me produce my skill to where it is at the moment. I know I'll keep trying getting better, and we'll see how their spinners go,' he said. The 34-year-old had featured in three Tests Down Under, and nabbed a second-inning four-wicket haul the Ashes of 2021. Besides, he is England's most experienced spinner, with 39 Tests to his name. Leach, missed the 2023 Ashes in England with a back injury, but is currently the leading spinner in the County Championship's first division this season, with 39 wickets at 24.76, twice taking six wickets in an innings. However, England seemed to have moved on from him. 'I obviously played with Jimmy Anderson last year at Lancashire, and they basically said that they're picking Bashir to do what I do. So I took a little bit of pride out of Jimmy respecting a little bit of what I've been able to do in my career. But Bashir has been okay,' he said. England are also grooming Jacob Bethell, a batsman who bowls left-arm spin, rated highly by English pundits. 'Jacob Bethell is playing this Test match (tonight at The Oval) and he looks like he'll take up the spin bowling from Liam Dawson,' he added. After a career-stalling knee injury in 2023, Leach had almost relinquished his Test dreams, but for Ben Stokes's phone call. 'It reminded me I was going about things in the right way, and gave me confidence I had still had something to offer the team. That gave me good motivation for the remainder of the summer,' he told Daily Mail. 'It's great playing for England, then the injuries happened and you find yourself really down,' he said. 'Why am I here? I felt like I needed to rediscover that kid-like mentality of why you play the game. ''You have that on the journey to playing for England. It's tiring, stressful. The upsides, the opportunity, all the things Baz [McCullum] talks to us about, I felt like I loved them but maybe I was being a bit of a fraud – enjoying them but not living by them,' he added.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
County cricket: Somerset win quickly to gain ground on Surrey and Notts
What do the following have in common? Seven for 162; five for 59; four for 85; six for 63; four for 39; four for 41; six for 51; four for 81; seven for 93; four for 103; four for 82; six for 116; five for 99? Reward yourself with a slice of Battenberg if you shouted: 'Bowling figures by spinners in last week's County Championship matches!' It was the third of four rounds this season using the Kookaburra ball, the trial intended to produce pacers who have the tools to make the most of the flat-seamed, fast-softening ball used in many overseas series (including That One). Well, it's certainly bringing spinners into the game, while the seamers can work on their fielding. The irony is that England's first-choice spinner barely plays county cricket. While leaders Surrey played out a 571 v 537 draw with Yorkshire and second-placed Notts did pretty much the same against Hampshire (with 578 offset by 454), things were, as they often are, different at Taunton. Somerset secured a win over Durham in two days to go third in Division One, Jack Leach bagging seven wickets and Archie Vaughan four, with Callum Parkinson and George Drissell picking up 11 for the visitors. For opinions on the pitch, you can pick your 1980sSomerset and England all-rounder according to taste. Vic Marks was happy with it; Sir Ian Botham (with Durham connections to be fair) was not. Somerset go third, 17 points behind Surrey, with Yorkshire and Hampshire to visit the County Ground in September. Any rumours of increased sales of Pantone charts in Leeds and Southampton are, as yet, unfounded. Warwickshire have nestled in just a point behind Somerset after defeating bottom dwellers Worcestershire in a match that took an unpredictable route to a predictable result. Ethan Brookes, enjoying a fine streak of form, logged 140 and 87, which – allied to Pakistan Test seamer Khurram Shahzad's first-innings six for 42 – left the home side chasing 393 for an unlikely win. At 12 for two, that looked a long way off, but Dan Mousley got things going with 69, and Zen Malik (142) and Beau Webster (100) broke the back of it, Pears dispatched by Bears with five wickets in hand. Warwickshire are looking up; Worcestershire are looking down. Probably a long way down. Essex and Sussex have endured/enjoyed contrasting seasons. John Simpson's newly promoted side simply carried their form and optimism from 2024 into 2025 and have surpassed expectations, showing prominently in Division One. Essex, for so long a byword for consistency, just never got going, their only victory coming in mid-April against lowly Worcestershire. So, a home win at Hove on your coupon? It turned out to be Essex by an innings because, well, it's a funny old game. There was more to it than the capricious nature of cricket, since the game can often be kind as well as cruel. Jamie Porter and Sam Cook were back in, the latter having played fewer than half the Championship matches to date – and that's key for Essex. Buoyed by his own century and one from Jordan Cox, Matt Critchley had a long bowl, four wickets his reward. Nothing makes a spinner look better than runs on the board. Leicestershire's annus mirabilis continued with a win over Derbyshire that banished any memory of the surprise walloping by Middlesex last time out. Their lead at the top of Division Two has now stretched to 34 points. The match was a personal triumph for Rehan Ahmed, who delivered the best all-round performance by an Englishman in a first-class match since Ian Botham in Kolkata 1980. Ahmed made 115, to lead a recovery from none for two, then picked up six for 51 and seven for 93. The leg-spinning all rounder (oh my Adil of long ago) is still only 20! That's easy to forget because he's played five Tests on the subcontinent and has actually slipped down the spin options ladder despite developing his game significantly this summer. Young players, especially young leg-spinners, can go in and out of form almost from session to session, so it's important that selectors do not write him off or put him in a box only to be opened in India, Pakistan or Bangladesh. He can hardly be doing more to advance his case. It's been a good week for all-rounders, with Tom Hartley the star as Lancashire continued to improve on their early season form. First a word for Australian journeyman Chris Green, who came to the crease at 209 for six and made 160. He has averaged more than 100 in his three matches wearing the Red Rose and nipped in with a couple of wickets in each of Gloucestershire's innings while going at less than 2.3 an over. Money well spent on that contract. Hartley, in at No 10, cruised in Green's slipstream to register a debut first-class ton, last man out for 130. It wasn't long before Jimmy Anderson asked him to bowl and his six for 116 was crucial in allowing the follow-on to be enforced. Hartley's second-innings five for 99 was instrumental in ensuring that there was time, just, for Keaton Jennings and Josh Bohannon to knock off the 110 runs for the win. Green and Hartley's numbers have grabbed the headlines, of course, but it's worth noting that they batted for around eight hours between them and bowled 34 overs each to give their captain the option. I'm sure Anderson will have asked them about the follow-on and I'm sure they said they were raring to go, but it's quite the feat of physical and mental resilience to bowl 27 and 28 overs, respectively, second time round. This article is from The 99.94 Cricket Blog
The Guardian
24-07-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Yorkshire v Surrey, Sussex v Essex, and more: county cricket day three
Update: Date: 2025-07-24T09:10:36.000Z Title: Thursday's round-up Content: Somerset wrapped up their five-wicket win against Durham before tea on day two, though not without a wobble. The surface was the main talking point, with opinions varying depending on the colour of the tracksuit. The Somerset head coach, Jason Kerr, called it 'an incredible surface' while Durham's bowling coach, Graham Onions, was less complimentary about the 'excessive turn'. Jack Leach pocketed a six-fer, for the second consecutive game, and Archie Vaughan four, as Durham were bowled out for 190 – leaving Somerset 86 to win. They scraped over the line, despite Callum Parkinson's four wickets. After a shimmering century on Tuesday, Rehan Ahmed fizzed out six Derbyshire batters for 51 in a dazzling display of leg-spin. Leicestershire lead by 209. Derbyshire's Luis Reece had earlier collected six for 56 as Leicestershire's tail collapsed. Chris Green won the heart of Lancashire fans with a wham-bam 160, all long levers and princely smile. When he was eventually dismissed for the record score for a Lancashire No 8, his standing ovation ran into the one welcoming No 11, Jimmy Anderson. Tom Hartley then raced to his first first-class century, a clean-hitting knock, pipping Peter Martin to the highest score by a Lancashire No 10. Anderson then licked his lips and whistled out Cameron Bancroft cheaply, but that was Lancs' only success as Ben Charlesworth hit an excellent century of his own in a match that looks destined for a high-scoring draw. Ben Kellaway and Colin Ingram batted Glamorgan into an excellent position against Kent, who are making a better fist of their second innings. With his parents in the crowd, Lyndon James rocked to a maiden double hundred as Nottinghamshire declared on 578 at Southampton; Warwickshire are on the rocks after first Ethan Brookes made a career-best 140 against his old club Worcestershire, and then Khurram Shazad fired six batters out for 42. Rain ruined much of the day's play at Scarborough, with just time for Yorkshire's Jonny Bairstow to rattle to 72 before being caught off Surrey's two-match Kookaburra-ball signing Sai Kishore. England man in the wings Jordan Cox hot-footed to a brilliant century for Essex, putting on 184 with Matt Critchley (a fine 123), who both made the most of a temptingly short boundary on the pavilion side. Sussex toiled away, without the rested Ollie Robinson, until thunderstorms stopped play with the Essex lead 247. Middlesex declared on 625 for eight, riches beyond dreams, thanks to hundreds for Kane Williamson (in his first red-ball innings for the club) and Leus du Plooy, and 151 for Max Holden. Northants hauled themselves to 121 for four at stumps. Update: Date: 2025-07-24T09:10:36.000Z Title: Scores on the doors Content: DIVISION ONE Southampton: Hampshire 80-0 v Nottinghamshire 578-8dec Taunton: Somerset 250 and 89-5 BEAT Durham 145 and 190 By FIVE WICKETS Hove: Sussex 204 v Essex 475-9 Edgbaston: Warwickshire 184 v Worcestershire 333 and 31-0 Scarborough: Yorkshire 376-5 v Surrey DIVISION TWO Derby: Derbyshire 189 v Leicestershire 398 Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan 327 v Kent 155 and 106-1 Cheltenham: Gloucestershire 179-1 v Lancashire 557 Merchant Taylors' School: Middlesex 625-8 dec v Northamptonshire 126-4 Update: Date: 2025-07-24T09:10:36.000Z Title: Preamble Content: Good morning! Day three races around, with things already done and dusted at Taunton, though the recriminations continue. Before a ball is bowled… As an ex Somerset player I find this appalling... at a time when County Cricket is under pressure for relevance as a breeding ground for InternationalPlayers and Somerset members have apparently voted for the status quo, the club produces this pitch.… Elsewhere, Sussex, Warwickshire, Derbyshire and Northants will hope that the Kookaburra can save them. Play starts at 11am, do join us.
