IND vs ENG 2021: “Frustrated” Jack Leach hopes to play Tests in England

England spinner Jack Leach hasn’t played a Test at home since the 2019 Ashes. The Somerset bowler hopes to find a place in England’s XI during the Test series against India starting Wednesday.

Jack Leach, who missed out on the home series against the West Indies, Pakistan and New Zealand, has played just 15 out of England’s 39 Tests since his debut in March 2018.

“It feels a long time ago, 2019, that I played in that Ashes series, and I look back with real fond memories of big crowds and that kind of atmosphere,” Jack Leach was quoted in a PA report.

“I really felt like I thrived off that and enjoyed it. To have crowds back after what’s gone on and to hopefully get the chance to play some games in England, I feel I bowl well in England,” he added.

Having played five Tests at home, Jack Leach has good numbers with the bat and ball. He has 12 wickets with the ball at an average of 28 and also has done well with the bat, scoring a 92 against Ireland. He was involved in a historic match-winning partnership with Ben Stokes against Australia at Leeds in 2019.

Frustrated not to play: Jack Leach

The absence of Ben Stokes may further hamper Jack Leach’s chances to make the cut. Due to the lack of an all-rounder, England had fielded four pacers against New Zealand in June.

Expressing his frustrations at the lack of matches for the sake of team balance, Jack Leach added:

“I guess the thing I’ve struggled with over the past couple of years has been that momentum of playing games and feeling like you’re learning from those experiences. That was the frustrating thing. I understood it from a team point of view in terms of the balance of the team. If it had been three seamers and a spinner, that would have been the first time I’d have played in that balance of the team.

“My experience hasn’t been in that balance of team, so having not done that before, it would have been a huge challenge which I’d have loved to do, but I understand why they want four seamers, especially in England. From the point of view of just playing games, I was frustrated not to play, and they were wickets I felt I could have had a positive impact on the game,” he continued.

Jack Leach has had a good outing in the County Championship for Somerset. He has 16 wickets to his name from seven matches at 23.5. Last month, he claimed a five-for against a star-studded Surrey at The Oval.

The 30-year-old is also the second-highest wicket-taker in the 2021 calendar year. With 28 wickets from six Tests (two in Sri Lanka and four in India) at an average of 31.14, he’s ten short of Ravichandran Ashwin’s tally of 38 wickets at 18 from the same number of Tests.