Injured Jack Leach ruled out of Ashes 2023: Details
In a major blow to Team England, Jack Leach has been ruled out of the upcoming Ashes series, starting June 16 in Edgbaston. The left-arm spinner sustained a stress fracture during England's victory over Ireland in the recently-concluded one-off Test match. Notably, Leach has been England's first-choice spinner in Tests for a while. His replacement is yet to be announced. Here are further details.
Scans reveal Leach's injury
Leach was pivotal to England's crushing 10-wicket team over Ireland as he claimed figures worth 3/35 and 1/90 across two innings. Following the victory, Leach underwent scans and the same revealed his stress fracture. It must be noted that England have not named any other specialist spinner in their squad for the first two Tests of the Ashes series.
A look at his stats
Making his Test debut in 2018, Leach did not take long in cementing his place in the team. He has been a part of two Ashes so far, in 2019 and 2021-22. As far as his numbers are concerned, he has returned with 124 wickets in 35 Tests at an impressive average of 34.18. The tally includes five fifers and a match 10-wicket haul.
Second-most wickets since 2022
Leach's stocks in the longest format have significantly gone up in the last couple of years. Since the start of 2022, the left-arm spinner has scalped 60 wickets in 17 Tests at an average of 37.20. Only Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon (71) has returned with more Test wickets in this period. Against the Aussies, Leach has scalped 18 wickets in seven Tests at 35.05.
Who can be his probable replacements?
The likes of Rehan Ahmed, Will Jacks, and Liam Livingstone are among the top candidates to replace Leach in the squad. All three players, who can also contribute with the bat, made their Test debuts in Pakistan in late 2022. Moreover, Jacks and Ahmed claimed fifers on debut. Previously capped Dom Bess and Liam Dawson can also be considered for the vacated spot.
