Jack Leach has been ruled out of this summer’s Ashes series after suffering a stress fracture of the back in a hammer blow to England’s plans.
An ECB statement said the spinner “developed low back symptoms” during England’s 10-wicket victory over Ireland at Lord’s. Leach took three wickets in the first innings on Thursday, but struggled in Ireland’s second innings on Saturday, leaving the field and eventually returning figures of one-for-90.
The statement confirmed: “A scan on Sunday in London has revealed a stress fracture, which will keep him out of the forthcoming Ashes Test series, which gets underway at Edgbaston on Friday, June 16.”
Leach has played 35 Tests since making his debut against New Zealand in 2018 but has become particularly established over the past 12 months, having been selected for all 13 matches under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum.
The 31-year-old has been backed to fulfil a leading role as England’s frontline spinner regardless of conditions and would have been certain to play in the Ashes opener at Edgbaston, having been named as the only spin option in the 16-man squad announced on Saturday.
England are set to announce a replacement in due course, but the pecking order for spinners is a muddled one.
Matt Parkinson is the only other out-and-out spinner to have featured under Stokes and McCullum, earning a Test debut as a concussion substitute for Leach against New Zealand last summer, but has since fallen out of favour.
All-rounders Will Jacks and Liam Livingstone toured Pakistan last year but were largely picked due to the conditions, as was teenage leggie Rehan Ahmed, who became England’s youngest-ever Test cricketer when taking five-for on debut in Karachi. The likes of Mooen Ali and Adil Rashid have retired from Test cricket.
