As he ran through Pakistan’s top order with three wickets in quick succession on the third morning of the third Test in Karachi, Jack Leach not only put England in a good position to eventually bowl the hosts out for 216 but also reached a personal milestone too.
Coupled with his four from the first innings, the left-arm spinner ascended to the top of the rankings for most Test wickets taken in 2022 with his 3-72 – underlining just how he has become an important if sometimes unheralded part of England’s new era under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum.
The 31-year-old has been entrusted with the responsibility of opening the bowling and taking long spells with the ball during the three-Test series in Pakistan too and team-mate Stuart Broad was full of praise for how Leach has come into his own this year.
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Jack Leach with the first wicket of the third day as Shan Masood departs for 24
“He’s had a great year,” England fast bowler Broad told Sky Sports. “We’ve talked how much he’s grown as a bowler and a leader throughout Stokesy’s captaincy, and he has to take a lot of credit for that personally.
“Stokesy has helped him out with fields, but it looks like he’s grown in stature and confidence.
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“Giving him responsibility to bowl at pressure times as well, starting off days and taking the new ball – there is always a lot of expectancy and you’ve got to set the tone when you do that.
“He’s taken wickets throughout the year and today I thought he bowled some wicket-taking deliveries to start the day. There is no doubt Leachy had a good day to start and it was certainly England’s day.”
Also See:
England’s spinners in the third Test
| Jack Leach | Rehan Ahmed | |
|---|---|---|
| Wickets | 7 | 7 |
| Runs | 212 | 137 |
| Overs | 57 | 36.5 |
| Maidens | 8 | 3 |
| Economy | 3.72 | 3.70 |
Even so, Leach’s display which prevented the hosts getting on top in their second innings was overshadowed by the performance from a player at the other end of the scale to the 32-cap Somerset bowler in Rehan Ahmed.
After not bowling him during the morning session, Stokes turned to the 18-year-old leg-spinner to break the potentially dangerous fourth-wicket partnership between Babar Azam and Saud Shakeel which he did by removing the Pakistan skipper.
Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan, Agha Salman and Mohammad Wasim all fell to Ahmed as well as he became the youngest player to take five wickets on his Test debut, finishing with 5-48 as Pakistan set England 167 to win and complete a 3-0 series whitewash.
It followed on from his 2-89 in the first innings and once again showed the immense ability he possesses despite only having played three first-class matches for Leicestershire so far, and former England batter Mark Butcher is impressed by how Ahmed has seized his opportunity.
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Check out each of Rehan Ahmed’s wickets as the England teenager became the youngest man to take a five-wicket haul on Test debut
“Most people probably thought he wouldn’t play and that he was just on the trip for a bit of work experience, but not with this England team,” Butcher told Sky Sports. “They’re not afraid of talent and not afraid to throw it in at the deep end.
“It’s one of those things where you see these people on the big stage for the first time and go ‘what’s going to make them the complete package?’.
“For him, the accuracy is going to be the complete package because he has a lot of the tools there already. If he can get the leg-break to turn a bit more, fantastic.
“If he can’t, I don’t think it makes a massive amount of difference, he’ll just be a different type of leg-spin bowler.”
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Rehan Ahmed describes his five-wicket haul on his England debut a ‘dream come true’.
The question now, however, is what comes next for Ahmed? England’s next Test series is a two-match tour of New Zealand in February and on surfaces which will offer far less assistance for the spinners.
It is likely England will take just one spinner to head coach McCullum’s homeland and that it will be the more experienced Leach who gets the nod, with Butcher hoping there will be an opportunity for Ahmed to play either in a franchise T20 competition or grade cricket in Australia to keep learning his trade.
“The kid has just taken a five-for and has only played three first-class matches, so you can’t say perhaps not playing for Leicestershire in the first two matches of the season is going to hinder him, but the question is when is he going to be next playing for England?” Butcher said.
“They’re only going to play one spinner in New Zealand and last time they went down there [in 2019] they didn’t play any in Hamilton.
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Mark Butcher and Stuart Broad were full of praise for Rehan Ahmed after his five-for helped put England on the verge of victory in the third Test against Pakistan
“Ben Stokes has every faith in Jack, so it’s not a case of looking at it and saying ‘we probably won’t use much spin, let’s use Rehan Ahmed because he gives us something Jack Leach can’t’ IE the wrist spin which might generate a little bit more.
“But I don’t think that’s going to happen, so it’s almost pointless him going on that trip if he’s not going to play.”
Watch England’s push for victory against Pakistan on day four in Karachi live on Sky Sports Cricket from 4.45am on Tuesday.
Sourse: skysports.com
