With a more proactive,wickets-focused attitude than previously,Leach has consistently made key breakthroughs while delivering precious overs that allowed Stokes and other pace bowlers to rest. On day one against Ireland,it was Leach rather thanStuart Broad who winkled out the hard-hitting Paul Stirling,past his peak but still the best of the batters from the Emerald Isle.
In combining defence and attack,Leach was doing a decent job of emulating the sort of role once fulfilled by Graeme Swann,a bowler whose loss of control due to elbow problems marked the beginning of the end of the highly accomplished if intense Andy Flower era of the England Test team.
It cannot be known what caused Leach’s ailment,a rare stress fracture for a spin bowler,but he was clearly putting his whole body into hard spun deliveries at the Irish middle order. The deliveries were whirred down at the sort of pace that has made Lyon extremely difficult to attack,and once also caused opponents to hesitate about dancing down the pitch to ayoung Shane Warne.