Western Morning News (Saturday)
Leach’s best days as a cricketer are ahead
JACK Leach feels fit, healthy and ready to prove that his best days as an England cricketer lie ahead of him.
The 29-year-old Somerset left-arm spinner is currently involved in the 30-man training camp at the Ageas Bowl preparing for the First Test against West Indies, to be played behind closed doors at the ground, starting on Wednesday week.
After a winter of illness problems that interrupted his international career, Leach believes the enforced break from playing caused by the Covid-19 pandemic could actually help prolong his days on the world stage.
“My body feels fresh and ready to go,” he said. “I want to be positive about what the last few months have done for me.
“There has been time to reflect on what has been and what could be to come in my career. I feel in a good place to go on playing at a high level for a long time.
“There is no point in feeling sorry for myself over what happened in the winter. I want to use this training camp to start bringing my best to the party as far as England performances are concerned because I don’t think I have really done that yet.
“At county level I can perform consistently over and over again, but that has not happened with England so far and I believe I now have a better understanding of why that is.
“It’s a mental, rather than technical thing. I need to get my practice and preparation spot on leading into games so my head is in the right place. Knowing exactly what makes you tick is very important.
“I think a lot about the game in general and my game in particular. Perhaps I have been guilty of overthinking at times, rather than keeping things simple and being more automatic.
“In my best moments, there has not been a lot going through my mind. If I think a lot about something, I believe I can control it better, but now I realise that isn’t always the case.”
While Leach’s record of 34 wickets in ten Test appearances for England is more than respectable, he is currently best known outside of Somerset for his batting heroics.
He hit 92, opening the batting as a night-watchman against Ireland at Lord’s last July and then even more famously contributed a single to the unbroken last wicket stand of 76 with Ben Stokes, which pulled victory out of the fire in the third match of the Ashes Series.
Hailed as a cult figure for that courageous 17-ball innings, not least because he plays in spectacles, Leach had his hopes of further England glory last winter dashed by a succession of health problems.
Already receiving medication to control Chron’s disease, he fell seriously ill in New Zealand when a bout of food poisoning progressed dramatically and turned to sepsis.
He returned home following treatment, but only a week later set off on the tour to South Africa where he picked up a stomach bug that hit the squad and again had to return early to England.
Leach, who also had to overcome a torn calf muscle, still made the 16-strong party for Sri Lanka, only to suffer more frustration when the trip was curtailed by Covid-19 before the proposed two Test matches.
Now he and Somerset team-mate Dom Bess are battling to be England’s first-choice spinner against West Indies, along with Moeen Ali, Lancashire’s Matt Parkinson and Surrey’s Amar Virdi.
“There is competition for places throughout the squad,” said Leach. “That applies to five very good spinners and we want to work together to bring out the best in each other. I don’t think at all about who is number one at the moment.
Gloucestershire head coach Richard Dawson is in charge of England’s senior spinners for the first time and Leach believes he will have a positive impact/
“Richard has fitted in really well as spin bowling coach,” he said. “He has been working with Dom and I at Taunton in recent weeks and it’s great to have him on board.”