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The England National Cricket Team will take on the South Africa National Cricket Team for the Three-match Test series from December 17. It will be a massive challenge for the England cricket team as the Proteas are in stunning form, defeating Australia in the recently concluded Test series. South Africa is currently the number one ranked Test cricket team in the ICC rankings.
Ahead of the series, Simon Harmer, who took 10 wickets against Australia in Cape Town, reckoned that Jack Leach could be the best choice for the England cricket team if they want to combine well with their pacers throughout the series.
England to face South Africa in a Test series
Jack Leach, an experienced spinner, is currently part of the England National Cricket Team and is not likely to get back into the side soon as the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is moving towards a new direction.
National selector Marcus North recently told the Wisden Cricket Weekly podcast that the team was moving in a "different direction." As Leach played his last match for the team a couple of years ago, he doesn't even have a central contract. So, it is unlikely to see the Somerset left-arm spinner playing against South Africa.
But why did Simon Harmer applaud Jack Leach ahead of the Test series? The 37-year-old South African spinner made a brief tactical analysis on why the Three Lions should take Leach with them for the three Tests.
Simon Harmer suggests England consider Jack Leach for the Test series
Speaking on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast, Leach and Harmer emphasized the importance of having a bowler who can provide control from one end. The South African spinner believed that the English spinner, who has 142 wickets in 39 Tests to date and an average of 34.07, will create space for the seamers to do some aggressive spells from the other end of the wicket. The Tests between England and South Africa will be played across Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Cape Town.
"If you are going to play a spinner at those venues, you need, in the first innings, somebody who can hold an end so that your seamers can rotate, attack and bowl four overs of aggressive, fast bowling," Simon Harmer opined during the discussion.
"If you don't have that control, it makes it very difficult to find 90 overs in a day and how that stacks up with your seamers. So, for me, Leach is still the guy for England," he added.
Simon Harmer on the tactical advantages with Jack Leach
Harmer was well aware of Marcus North's recent comments where he talked about ECB's vision to take the team in a different direction. The Protean spinner mentioned further that Leach may not be the bowler who will create havoc by taking back-to-back wickets on Day 5, but he can provide the team with the much-needed control which England may need in South Africa when they face the hosts in the away series.
"I'm sure the chats are, 'well, he doesn't bowl teams out on day five', but the amount of control that he gives you, I just think at the venues that South Africa will be hosting England, if you are going to take a spinner, he is probably your guy." Simon Harmer continued.
