England’s Test players may be feeling a bit miserable after two wretched defeats, despite the waves lapping at their breakfast tables in St Lucia, but what about those not in the Test team? They are spared the agony of a very public humiliation but they must also live with the reality that the team are playing hopelessly and still they cannot get a game.
This can be a source of frustration and despair for the conscientious cricketer and they don’t come much more conscientious than Jack Leach. He may be a special case. His opportunities at this level are not simply dependent on form, they are dictated by long, anguished perusals of the pitch by the wise men to establish whether two spinners are required (in fact that was the case in Barbados but they opted to pick Adil Rashid rather than Leach, a decision that was hardly vindicated by what happened in the match and one which is unlikely to be repeated).
Leach is conditioned to the topsy-turvy nature of a cricketer’s career. He has already endured setbacks, standard ones like breaking a thumb just before the Pakistan series last summer, unusual ones like having the legality of a seemingly flawless action queried. Then the came the series in Sri Lanka where he took 18 wickets in three matches, a significant contribution to England’s 3-0 victory, which now seems something of a mirage.
“I’m four Tests into my career and it’s been two extremes,” Leach says. “That’s been interesting to experience, the highs and lows and how more experienced players go about dealing with that. It’s about dusting yourself down to go again.”
Leach has been doing his duty on this tour, though not in jobs that he would wish. The non-players have to scurry out on the field to deliver drinks – 10 times more frequently than in days of old, when your correspondent became adept at offering refreshment to English fielders in sweltering heat on another continent. Then there is the tricky task of encouraging those actually engaged in the match. It is hard to find the right phrase when offering a drink in the dressing room to a distraught batsman who has just missed a straight one. “Bad luck” does not quite cut it nor does “it must have nipped back”.
Leach understands the notion of the squad system that Joe Root often talks about, since this is especially relevant to him. “I have found I’ve been down after defeats even though I’m not playing and that’s a real positive thing,” he says. Believe it or not there has been the odd cricketer who revels in a side’s defeat after he has been omitted.
“With my role I have to be patient. I came here last year on the A tour and ragged square [the ball turned a lot]. So I arrived thinking I’d be more involved. It just shows they can prepare whatever wickets they want here and I wouldn’t have expected to play in the two games so far. So it’s all about helping the guys and learning as much as I can. I don’t feel I have wasted time. I feel like I have made improvements.”
Whether Leach has a chance to demonstrate that in St Lucia this week remains to be seen. First there will have to be much staring at the surface at the Darren Sammy stadium. After their travails in Bangladesh recently the West Indies are none too keen on spinning pitches, it seems..
Leach may have to stay patient and keep running. The senior men in the team have adopted a rigorous fitness regime, with Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler to the fore. “I did some hill sprints with Jos the other day, which I didn’t enjoy; he’s so fit” said Leach. And before breakfast on Wednesday they all had a training session on the beach. This is mighty impressive as long as they are not displacement activities. Runs of a different sort are the requirement now.
