Jack Leach reveals how Jos Buttler helped him with his batting ahead of first Test
England left-arm spinner Jack Leach has revealed that Jos Buttler helped him with his batting in the nets ahead of the first Test against India.
Jack Leach occupied the crease for 83 minutes in the first innings of the Chennai Test and remained unbeaten on 14. He frustrated the Indian bowlers by featuring in a 42-run ninth-wicket stand with Dom Bess after Ishant Sharma had picked up two wickets in consecutive balls.
Explaining how Buttler aided him with his batting, Jack Leach wrote in his ‘Test Diary’ for Sky Sports:
“Jos came to me before the Test after I had been batting in the nets and - unprompted - helped me with my batting. I got out in Sri Lanka paddle-sweeping so he gave me some advice on how to play the shot and I'm continuing to work on it. It gave me a lot of confidence to have a senior player show such an interest in taking care of my game.”
Jack Leach, who was at the other end when Ben Stokes pulled off the Headingley miracle in the Ashes in 2019, added that he prides himself on being someone who is hard to dismiss. The 29-year-old further wrote:
“I try to make it as difficult as I can for the opposition because I know when I'm fielding how frustrating it can be if tail-enders hang around!”
If you offer something with the bat, you feel confident while bowling: Jack Leach
While discussing his partnership with Dom Bess in the first innings, Jack Leach stated that he wanted to play a role in England posting a big total. In this regard, he wrote:
“When I came in to bat in the first innings, Dom Bess was batting really well and I wanted to support him and help the side rack up as big a first-innings score as I could. I also just wanted to make the most of batting on the wicket while it was still good and delay our turn to bowl on it, so hopefully it would be spinning more. It was good to contribute some runs and if you are offering something with the bat in the game then you feel your confidence go into your bowling.”
After his defiant knock with the bat, Jack Leach played a major role in England’s 227-run triumph with his left-arm spin. He deceived Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara in India’s second innings and finished with excellent figures of 4 for 76.
The second India-England Test will begin on February 13 in Chennai.