England’s left-arm spinner Jack Leach has not played a Test since last year’s tour of Pakistan. He did not have a good time in spin-friendly circumstances. In three Tests, he grabbed 16 wickets for an average of 31.43 and a strike rate of 50.75. On the other side, his colleague spinner Shoaib Bashir took nine wickets at an average of 49.55 and a strike rate of 79.44. However, England went on to select Bashir as their frontline spinner for the following trips.
When Bashir was hurt during the third Test against India in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025 and ruled out for the remainder of the matches, many expected Leach to return to the system. However, that was not to be, as Liam Dawson returned to Test cricket after eight years.
Dawson was dropped from the playing XI for the fifth and final Test match after making little impact. Jacob Bethell will play as a spin-bowling all-rounder in the high-voltage match.
Star Australian spinner Nathan Lyon revealed that he learnt from James Anderson and others at Lancashire that England is attempting to make Shoaib Bashir perform the role he does for the Australian team.
However, Lyon stated that Jack Leach remains England’s top spinner.
“I clearly played with Jimmy Anderson at Lancashire last year, and they basically suggested that Bashir will do the same thing I do. So I took some pride in Jimmy respecting some of what I’ve accomplished in my career. But Bashir has been fine,” Lyon said during a Cricket Australia sponsorship event in Sydney on Thursday, July 31.
“Jacob Bethell is playing this Test match [at The Oval against India], and he looks like he’ll take up the spin bowling from Liam Dawson. But in my eyes, Jack Leach is still their best spinner,” the 37-year-old added.
India
