Picking Shoaib Bashir over Jack Leach makes complete sense with the Ashes in mind

You do not need to be a county number one to be England’s first choice. This, perhaps, is the theme of the first Test squad of the summer, detectable both in England’s preference of Jamie Smith to Ben Foakes as wicketkeeper and their endorsement of Shoaib Bashir, rather than Jack Leach, as spin bowler.

While Smith’s selection is the more contentious, discarding Foakes is little surprise: England made the same decision last year, for the Ashes. For the long-term development of the side, dropping Leach is more notable.

Since Ben Stokes was appointed captain two years ago, Leach has been England’s first-choice spinner, picked in every Test when fit. Empowering Leach has been one of the central tenets of the Stokes captaincy. Leach taking 10 wickets at Headingley in Stokes’s third Test encapsulated how the regime sought to elevate him into a match-winner in all climes. He is also personally close to Stokes and seen as an emblem of the team’s values. Witness how Leach has developed his batting and fielding, and the concussion he suffered when diving to save a boundary half an hour into Brendon McCullum’s first Test in charge.

And so dropping Leach for Bashir – his Somerset understudy who has been on loan at Worcestershire – is one of the most significant decisions yet made under the Stokes regime. It is rooted not just in the summer ahead, but also England building towards their onerous challenges in 2025: the series at home to India, before the Ashes Down Under.

While Leach is back playing for Somerset in the County Championship, he has only played one of England’s last 10 Tests: a worrying sequence for any cricketer, especially a bowler aged 33. So far this summer, after recovering from the knee injury sustained in India, Leach’s returns have been underwhelming: he took four wickets at a cost of 298 runs across the three championship fixtures he played before the Test squad was picked.

Bashir has not enjoyed a stellar summer either; he has averaged 76.8 this championship season and was hit for 38 in an over by Dan Lawrence. Aged 20, his selection is an endorsement of youth. “You’re picking someone because you just see that potential,” explained England’s managing director of cricket Rob Key. “He just looks like he’s going to get better and better. And if this is the point that he’s at now, where is he then going to be in years to come?”

Bashir’s strengths suited for Australian conditions

The selection of Bashir also indicates England’s attention on challenges in the years to come. In English Test cricket, one date always looms largest: the next Ashes series, which begins next November.

In Australia, spinners receive scant turn off the pitch. Instead, they must deceive batsmen through other means: drift and bounce, allied to unerring accuracy. These attributes have been the foundation of Nathan Lyon’s 530 Test wickets. Bashir has already hinted that he possesses some of the same qualities; 17 wickets in three Tests in India in his debut series attested to his temperament.

At 6ft 4in, four inches taller than Leach, Bashir’s physique is ideally-suited to get bounce off the wicket. His strength generates considerable drift, enabling him to deceive batsmen in the air, rather than relying on the pitch.

“You don’t get much variable bounce in Australia, it’s about having to create something yourself,” explains the former Leicestershire off-spinner Carl Crowe, who is now spin coach for Kolkata Knight Riders, head coach for Colombo Strikers and a talent scout for England.

Bashir’s crucial quality is overspin, Crowe believes. “If you look at Bashir’s style of bowling, that high overspin, creating bounce, could be successful there.

“When you haven’t got anything on the pitch, you’ve got to deceive the batter in the air – take the pitch out of the equation. If I could have anything for Australian conditions I’d choose drop. The batter is thinking ‘the ball is going to land here’, and with the extra drop, the ball will land shorter than expected. You’re deceiving the batter in the air. Not only is the batter done in length, but the ball is bouncing a lot higher than they would have expected too. That’s one of Bashir’s main attributes, that overspin.”

Relying more on overspin, and less on sidespin, means that Bashir does not generate huge turn off the pitch itself. But in Australia, overspin tends to be more effective, and means that a bowler doesn’t need to rely upon assistance from the surface. Crowe believes that the ability to generate significant spin from the top of the ball, rather than the side, explains why Lyon has thrived in Australia while a series of terrific overseas off-spinners have floundered. “Lyon sets batters up in the air and then deceives them off the pitch as well, which is a similar method to Bashir.” Ravichandran Ashwin, who has taken 39 wickets at 42.1 apiece in Australia, has become more successful there by adapting his normal style to deploy more overspin.

With the Ashes in mind, Bashir also has another advantage. Even without David Warner, Australia’s line-up features at least three left-handers in their top seven. One of those, Travis Head, eviscerated Leach at Brisbane in 2021; Leach nursed figures of 1-102 from his 13 overs.

Off spinners have played a crucial role in both of England’s last two Ashes wins Down Under. John Emburey was England’s top wicket-taker in 1986-87; Graeme Swann took 15 wickets while providing vital control in 2010-11. Bashir, England hope, could yet do the same.