England spinner Jack Leach has dismissed the chatter around the nature of the pitch used for the day-night Test in Ahmedabad, crediting the Indian spinners R Ashwin and Akshar Patel for outplaying the tourists in the third Test of the ongoing four-match Test series in India.
Ashwin and Patel wrecked havoc on the England batting line-up by snaring 19 wickets between them in the recent pink ball Test, as the tourists could manage only 112 and 81 in the two innings in the third Test which India won by 10 wickets within two days in Ahmedabad last week.
Well, ahead of the fourth and final Test at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad from March 4, Leach being a “cricket fan” wants the upcoming Test match to go longer than two days.
Leach said in a virtual press conference on Monday: “I think that is right. One thing I will say as a cricket fan if I was watching a Test match, I would want it to go longer than two days, that is my only kind of viewing being a cricket fan.... Test match should go on longer than two days, whether that is to the pitch or skill, for me, I am fully concentrating how can I best do on every wicket I play on.”
He added, “They outbowled us on that wicket, Ashwin is a world-class bowler, Axar was very good on that wicket. All the talk has been in the media, in the dressing room, we just talk about getting better.”
On the Motera pitch debate, the English spinner opined, “I do not have too much to say about the pitch, we got outplayed in those conditions and for me, I am always looking to learn. That's the great thing about our group, we are all in this mindset and we want to learn from what has been a couple of hard games and put in a good performance so yeah, it was tough, even being a spinner on that wicket comes with tough moments.
Their spinners bowled really well, I do not think we should take anything away from them by saying bad things about the wicket, they played well and we need to learn from that.”
Well, Leach is now focusing on honing his skills instead of getting distracted by debates surrounding the pitch at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
He signed off by saying, “I do not have any issues with the pitch from a playing point of view, I just want to make an impact in the game as much as possible. There is a lot of talk on the outside and I am not wanting to get involved in that, that is a distraction to me, all I want to focus is on being the best I can be in any game I play for Somerset or England.”
(With ANI Inputs)
