Leach is the leading wicket-taker on England’s tour in Pakistan with 14, but had only played two Tests in the 18 months prior to the excursion and was unable to complete both due to back and knee injuries. He had returned to full fitness following knee surgery when England picked his first Test of the summer in June, but they preferred his Somerset team-mate Shoaib Bashir.
“I felt really happy and proud,” Leach recalled Monday, speaking at England’s resort in Islamabad. “He just wanted to tell me how great I was, basically, in the way that he does, and just acknowledge how I handled the situation. That gave me a chance to say some nice things to him about what he did.” had given me, probably going back to 2019 at Headingley.
“There’s just a mutual love there, so it was a nice conversation. It just reminded me that I was approaching things the right way and gave me confidence that I still had something to address.” “The team and I were part of it, in a way. That gave me the perfect motivation for the rest of the summer… a nice reminder that there was still a chance to play.”
Leach admitted that he briefly feared his England career would be over when he initially learned of his omission. “You always do,” he said. “After a long period with trauma, perhaps I felt that this could be it… I really understood the situation. If you are no longer in a position to maintain compatibility, the next alternative societies are available and they do it intelligently, and Bash hands down did that.”
But he was happy with the level of communication from the England management throughout and received a similar call from Brendon McCullum the day after speaking to Stokes in July. “I was very proud of that, and in some ways, I wasn’t surprised, because of what I had experienced when I was there. [in the squad]” he said. “I’m very grateful for that and for my courtship with those guys.”
After a slow start to the season in which he took nine wickets at 50.44 in his first four appearances for Somerset, Leach flourished at the end of the year with 36 at 15.86 in five matches. He said the secret was as simple as “remembering what I do and being proud of it” rather than worrying about making small technical adjustments.
“In fact, this summer provided a really perfect opportunity to get back to playing games for Somerset and simplify everything – doing exactly what I used to do well and creating the arrogance that that used to be good enough.”
“I just felt like I had to rediscover that childhood mentality of why you play this sport,” Leach said. “You have that going on as well as playing for England, that mentality of not losing anything. Then it’s like, ‘I’m here now, I want to keep that.’ That’s exhausting, it’s stressful.” , it’s no longer relaxing… You overlook what your main strengths are.
“This summer really gave me a really good opportunity to play for Somerset again, which is what I always wanted to do as a kid, and just simplify everything; just do what I was good at and develop the confidence that really, that was good enough… I’ve discovered it again: just being myself and really enjoying it.”
Leach outplayed Bashir in England’s first two Tests in Pakistan but said regaining his position as first-choice player is “not important” to him. “That’s not really in my thoughts,” he mentioned. “I just want to continue to build on what I’ve done in the summer and what I’m doing here… For me, it’s all about the team. Maybe I’m at an age where that’s all that really matters to me.”
The couple has worked extensively together in Pakistan. “He’s done very well,” Leach said of Bashir. “He will be learning a lot, very quickly. He has quality. We have a good relationship, we have a lot of fun and we try to work together. I try to help as much as I can. I don’t want to overload him with things: I feel that he is learning by playing and that everything will work out for him quite natural.”
“That’s probably my favorite spot: just the photos of the appeal, and then right after, of everyone celebrating,” Leach mentioned. “It was a great game to be a part of.” England will be hoping for something similar this day: their bid for a 2-1 victory.
Matt Curler is a working essayist at ESPNcricinfo. @mroller98
