CRANE FLIES HOME
Leach called up as stress fracture rules out spinner
Mason Crane was yesterday ruled out of England’s Test series against new Zealand with a stress fracture of his lower back, opening the door for somerset’s Jack Leach to join his first senior tour.
It is a cruel blow for the legspinner, who was missing from England’s first two-day warm-up at seddon Park with what was thought to be a back spasm.
That proved to be an optimistic diagnosis when two scans here in Hamilton revealed the Hampshire spinner faces a premature end to what has been a demanding winter with the England senior and Lions teams. ‘It’s tough for him,’ said Jimmy anderson, who had back problems of his own at the start of his international career.
‘Especially when you come on a tour like this. You are susceptible to stress injuries at his age, but the lads will be telling him he’s still young and has plenty of time. He’s a serious talent and if he works hard I’m sure he will come back stronger.’
It is not thought to be a serious fracture and it is hoped that with rest Crane will be able to start bowling again early this summer.
Leach, the most prolific spinner in the County Championship, will get what many believe to be a longoverdue call-up for the two Tests.
The left-arm spinner had been lined up to join England in India last winter as a replacement for Zafar ansari until a kink in his bowling action was discovered at Loughborough and he had to have remedial work to ensure it was legal before returning last summer.
Leach took 51 wickets at 25 apiece with his remodelled action last summer and followed that by becoming the only member of the Lions squad thrashed 3-0 by West Indies to emerge with any sort of credit. Leach took 18 wickets in the Caribbean and out-bowled Crane, who managed only one wicket in two matches before he left to join England here.
That followed a chastening Test debut in sydney, when Crane returned the harrowing figures of one for 193. Despite that, Crane remains a highly regarded figure in the England set- up and coach Trevor Bayliss will be disappointed he cannot give the 21-year-old more Test experience.
Equally, senior figures within the England camp are still not sure whether Leach has what it takes to thrive at the highest level.
Leach will arrive in auckland too late to be considered for the first Test that begins on Thursday and is unlikely to play in the second in Christchurch either, but at least Bayliss will now have a chance to have a close look at him.
England are likely to need three spinners in next winter’s Tests in sri Lanka and quite possibly on the West Indies tour that follows after Christmas, so this is Leach’s chance to stake his claim.
at least England had a better day at the start of their second warm-up match, taking 13 new Zealand XI wickets for 287 in their 90 overs with stuart Broad, Moeen ali and anderson all impressing.
Most interest centred on Broad not taking the new ball in either game. He has worked on refining his action after a poor year and anderson revealed: ‘He is disappointed. He’s a proud bloke and we’ve opened together for a number of years. stuart has done a lot of work on his action during his time off and he looks a different, refreshed bowler so far here.’