An emotional Jack Leach spoke of his pride at reaching a 100 Test wickets for England, a milestone he described as “more than I felt I’d ever achieve.”
Leach’s 100th wicket came as part of an excellent individual bowling display where he took four for 98 to help bowl Pakistan out for 202 and put England in charge of the match and the series.
“I can’t really believe it,” Leach said at the close of play. “It’s more than I felt I’d ever achieve. I need to remember that. As sportsmen and as people it’s easy to just push on to the next thing and the next thing and the next thing, and nothing’s ever enough.
“But if you told me that when I was a kid that I’d take 100 wickets, I would have laughed at you. So yes, it is special.”
A human achievement as much as sporting one, it would be wrong to view Leach’s 100 wickets solely through the prism of performance.
Leach suffers with Crohn’s disease and has spoken publicly of the troubles it has caused him in his career. During Covid he was especially vulnerable and admitted to moments where he feared his health problems would bring an end to his Test career. In 2019, when on tour in New Zealand, he contracted sepsis in an episode that left him fearing for his life.
“I wouldn’t think it would have been possible,” Leach explained of how far away the milestone felt at his lowest ebb three years ago. “Health wise more than anything. There’s lots of different challenges. I’m aware everyone has their challenges, I’m aware mine have been quite out there. That’s good because I want to be open and honest with people.”
Leach had even been close to missing the first Test in Pakistan as he was one of the dozen members of the touring squad to fall ill and it was only a knock on the door from captain Ben Stokes at the eleventh hour, who was also suffering, that convinced Leach to play.
It is a snapshot of a special relationship between the two that has seen Leach bloom under Stokes’ leadership. Since his Test debut four-and-a-half years ago, Leach has played in roughly half of England’s matches. Under Stokes, he has played in every single one. Never has his position in the England side been so secure.
“I feel like I’m just loving playing for England,” he said. “The most I’ve ever loved it. And it’s because it’s all about the team, it’s not about me. And that’s a special feeling.”
There is a quirk to Leach’s new found freedom and certainty in selection that his statistics under Stokes are in fact worse than they were previously where his position in the side was far less assured. In nine matches under Stokes, he averages 40.17 compared to 31.88 in the 22 matches that preceded that.
“I don’t look at my stats, which probably helps,” he explained on whether it has been difficult to put two-and-two together that his best period in an England shirt is coming at a time where the numbers, on the surface at least, don’t agree.
“Do you know what - I’ve never felt this so much as a team, [that] we just want to win. And we’ll do everything we can to do that.
“I really start to understand that we’re going to take a few more risks to maybe take a wicket, and that might require going for a few more runs. Because if we’re winning lots of games then everything kind of takes care of itself.
“I didn’t think it would ever happen,” he concluded on the milestone, “so it’s a nice, big milestone to get to.”
And of what comes next? “Just try and get another hundred, I guess.”
