Jack Leach hopeful that mental shift can take bowling to next level

NICK FRIEND: Leach is one of five spinners in England's 30-man squad, with this summer following a challenging winter for the Somerset man. Injury and illness have given him the chance to reflect on his international career to date

For all the talk of the cult hero status that came with his batting exploits at Headingley and against Ireland, Jack Leach believes there is still more to come from his bowling.

The Somerset spinner turned 29 on Monday and insists that international cricket has not yet seen the best of him with ball in hand.

At this point, he has taken 34 wickets in 10 Tests at an average of 29.02 – a figure that compares favourably to several of his recent predecessors, even if it is loftier than a career first-class average of 25.77.

He is keen to look beyond the numbers themselves, however, and more generally at his mindset and how he goes about his work on the biggest stage.

“We judge ourselves on numbers and things like that but actually it’s just about how the ball feels coming out,” he explains. “I feel like I can do that side of things a little bit better. For me, that’s not a technical thing – more of a mental thing.

“It’s hard to just relax. You have to understand what makes you tick. I think I try to control things so much [and] the more I think about something the more I can control it. Whereas sometimes when you’re in automatic, you do it a lot better and it’s about unlocking that as much as possible.

“I guess I think some of my best moments, there hasn’t been a lot going through my mind. I think back to that innings when I was out there with Stokes (against Australia in the Ashes), how focused I felt and how it was just real simple what I was trying to do. So, I think I want to apply that to my bowling as well and find that headspace where I can give my absolute best.

“I think it is a lot down to how I feel out there. I want to feel comfortable. I don’t want to be over-thinking, I guess. For me, I feel my practice and preparation is something I feel I can get better, and I can make it work better for me. That’s been a lot in my thoughts. Yeah, we play this team game, but it’s about individuals getting themselves ready for the game. I just need to give that a bit more thought, which will then help me going into games. So, I’ve been doing that, and it’s definitely been making a difference to how I feel.”

^{Leach has taken 34 Test wickets}

Leach’s involvement in England’s 30-man party at the Ageas Bowl comes on the back of a difficult spell. The first Test of the winter at Mount Maunganui was his only Test appearance, with injury and illness taking over. It opened the door for Dom Bess, a friend and teammate at Taunton, to return to the international fold and impress in South Africa.

The pair are two of five spinners in the current group, with Matt Parkinson – part of every squad selected by England through the winter – the sole leg-spinner, alongside Moeen Ali, returning to red-ball cricket after a break, and Surrey’s Amar Virdi.

In all likelihood, only one will play when July 8 finally arrives, with England and West Indies taking to the field to begin this unusual summer. Does Leach feel like he remains the man in possession, or has his winter misfortune altered the scales?

“To be honest I’m not thinking about that at all,” he admits. “I’m thinking about trying to bring my best to the England set-up. I feel like I haven’t done that yet and it takes a bit of working out mentally how you want to go about things. You’ve come from county cricket where you feel like you are massively involved and you kind of do that through performing over and over.

“Here I feel like I haven’t done that yet and I think I have a better understanding of why that is and a lot of it is mental and that’s my main aim – to bring my best to the party and if I do that then I won’t be far away. We’ve got five really good spinners here so it feels like there’s everything to play for, like 30 guys all are playing for spots, so there’s lots of competition throughout the squad and spin is no different.

“It’s about us all working together to all be at our best, then it’s up to the selectors and not up to us who takes that spot. I’m so glad to see Mo back as well. Mo at his best is an unbelievable player, so it’ll be interesting to see.”

At present, with training split into different sessions, Leach and Bess have been working together, with Moeen, Parkinson and Virdi in the other group. Gloucestershire head coach Richard Dawson, a former England off-spinner himself, has been drafted in to work with them. He also led Virdi, Bess and Mason Crane on a specialist spin camp in Mumbai during the off-season.

For Leach, the excitement of this period is enhanced by his return to fitness. He describes his constant battle with Crohn’s as “under control”.

“People suffer a lot worse than me, so I guess it's something where I don't feel sorry for myself,” he adds.

^{Leach came within eight runs of a Test century against Ireland at Lord's}

His winter struggles, he recalls, began with what he thinks was a bout of food poisoning when England were in Hamilton. Within 12 hours, his state had worsened and “turned into a sort of sepsis”.

“I was in a very, very bad way,” he says. Having come through that, he then became one of several England players in South Africa to catch a bug, which ended his tour early, before also suffering a slight tear to his calf.

Having then returned to full health in time for March’s tour of Sri Lanka, England flew home at the end of the second practice match as the coronavirus outbreak began to take hold.

Leach is hopeful, though, that such a complex spell can help him going forward. “I guess it gives you a lot of time to reflect on what’s been and what’s to come,” he considers. “The reflection has definitely been a positive thing.

“My body feels fresh and ready to go and I want to play cricket for as long as possible and to the highest standard possible, so I feel that I’m in a good place to play for a long time.

“I’m going to tell people in the pub when I’m older that I opened the batting for England. I don’t really care how I’m remembered, I guess. I pride myself on my bowling: that’s why I’m picked, to do that. I want to be bowling teams out on the last day, and that’s what I want to be remembered for.

“Everyone talks about Headingley, and it will be hard not to remember that. I’m working hard at bowling, and batting as well. It is a little bit strange. But I guess those moments make you want to play more in the team. I’m going to be in the team for longer if I play well. And if I keep being remembered for batting, I can take that. But I’ll obviously be doing something right if I’m playing a lot.”

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