County system to blame for having no spin plan B

Injuries happen in sport – not even Ben Stokes and Brendon Mccullum, who have bent cricket to their will, can stop them. But you can at least build a system to help cope with the inevitable.

Sadly, English cricket has neglected spin bowling for years. There is no safety net when it comes to Jack Leach. There is not even a proper spin coaching programme in place. The rise of Twenty20 cricket, and the emphasis placed on it, means that specialist spin bowlers are now just an afterthought.

When I was coming through at Northamptonshire, I was competing with three brilliant red-ball spinners: Graeme Swann, Jason Brown and Mark Davis. And that was just one county. But the game has changed so much that white-ball specialists are now considered for Test places.

The schedule is also to blame for England’s failure to produce more international-calibre spinners. The championship began on April 6 and counties had played six games by the middle of May. The green,

seaming conditions of spring and early summer mean spinners have not been able to get into the game.

Leach must be the unluckiest man in cricket. All the problems he has had with his health, his struggles with Crohn’s disease and falling sick in New Zealand, then recovering from them – only to fall victim to a back injury. The Ashes would have been the most important series in his career – a chance to show he is a genuine match-winner – and he will be devastated to miss it.

He will be missed most on the third and fourth days, when Stokes often sets attacking fields and encourages Leach to bowl striking lines. His bowling has become better under Stokes. In 13 Tests, he has taken 45 wickets and bowled more overs than anyone else. He is the unsung hero of “Bazball”.

I remember playing for England under the captaincy of Michael Vaughan and Andrew Strauss. They deployed me as a defensive bowler in the first innings. I provided control from one end while the seam bowlers rotated from the other.

Sometimes, I would come on early to see if there was any turn in the pitch, as Leach did against Ireland. He bowled brilliantly, picking up first-innings wickets.

In the second innings, as the

pitch deteriorates, your spinner is a match-winner. This is a luxury Stokes does not have anymore.

There is one solution: abandon the plan for flat pitches. It may mean compromising a key part of Bazball – but that is the price to pay.

England must take care of their pace bowlers – and produce green, seaming conditions to suit James Anderson and Stuart Broad. They can then rest and rotate Chris Woakes, Matthew Potts, Josh Tongue and Mark Wood.

As for replacement options, Will Jacks’s recent performance, timing-wise, was impeccable. He took three for 28 for Surrey in the T20 game against Kent on Sunday, displaying great rhythm. He strives to flight the ball and deceive the batsman.

Another potential replacement is Rehan Ahmed. While his performance in the championship has been underwhelming, his attacking mindset and confidence make him an obvious choice at some point.

Moeen Ali could also be considered, given his impressive performances in the Indian Premier League this year. He offers 20 overs of control from one end and can adapt to attacking fields if the pitch allows.

Liam Patterson-white closely resembles Leach’s skill set. He has played a few games for Nottinghamshire and possesses a repeatable action with late drift.

Slow bowlers need time to find a rhythm. There are five more championship games by the end of next month so, by the fourth and fifth Tests, somebody else may have emerged as a serious contender. At Old Trafford and the Oval, you need a specialist spinner.

So, for the final two Tests where spin becomes crucial, go back into the county game and find a spinner who has excelled. It might work. If anybody can think on their feet and find a solution to this problem, it is Stokes and Mccullum.