England are hoping Jack Leach can rally from a “pretty serious” knee injury after the side’s senior spinner struggled to play his part on a troublesome day in Hyderabad.
The experienced left-armer was pencilled in to lead the attack on the turning pitches of India but could only manage a reduced role as the hosts opened up a 175-run lead on day two of the first Test.
He contributed just 16 wicketless overs across three sessions and none of his spells lasted longer than four, forcing part-timer Joe Root take up the slack alongside rookies Tom Hartley and Rehan Ahmed.
Assistant coach Jeetan Patel revealed Leach landed awkwardly on his left knee while fielding on the first evening and aggravated the problem with a second blow after returning in the morning session.
Leach, who missed the entirety of last summer’s Ashes with a stress fracture of the back, remained on the field and came on six times in an attempt to disrupt India’s march towards a formidable 421 for seven.
“Jack banged his knee last night, the first dive down at fine leg, then he banged it again today and it’s giving him a little jip to be honest,” said Patel.
“It must be pretty serious, or serious for him anyway, because the reality is he wouldn’t shirk that responsibility. It is sore enough, if you watch him in the outfield and I don’t think it’s a graze.
“You noticed he was a little sluggish trying to get to balls, but he stuck at it and I thought he actually bowled really, really well considering. He tried everything and he used the options he had, bearing in mind he was a bit hampered.
“That’s what Jack does for this team, he’ll always put in, but it’s a bit of a shame from where he’s come (with his rehabilitation), to dive on one at fine leg and all of a sudden you’re hobbling around.”
Part-timer Joe Root picked up 24 overs of the workload and came out in credit with two for 77 but the inexperience of Hartley and Ahmed was evident as they failed to stem the flow of runs. With the squad’s fourth specialist spinner, the uncapped Shoaib Bashir, yet to arrive in the country following visa delays, England know they cannot risk Leach’s knee getting any worse.
“It’s about being smart. We’ve got four Tests to go and another innings at the back end of this game,” said Patel.
“We need a key man like Jack.”
Despite shipping 302 runs in the day slipping to what could prove an irretrievable position, Patel was full of praise for England’s attitude in the field and insisted heads would not drop.
“It was a tough day but the effort the guys put in were immense, through the roof almost,” he said.
“If you walked into the ground and didn’t know the score you’d almost think we were right on top of the game. Today proves what that changing room is about. We just need to make sure we come back, have that same attitude about how we take those three wickets, and the game will work itself out from there.”
Salt century gives England winning start to West Indies T20 series
Phil Salt hit a superb century as England drew first blood in their T20 series against West Indies, with a commanding eight-wicket victory at the Kensington Oval.
Salt's unbeaten 103 off 54 balls was the highlight for the tourists, who successfully chased down their target of 183 with 19 balls to spare.
The West Indies endured a difficult start and were reduced to 18-3 and later 117-8, with Saqib Mahmood (4-34) and Adil Rashid (3-32) doing the damage.
However, the hosts managed 65 runs in the last 5.2 overs to finish at 182-8, with Gukadesh Motie knocking 33 off 14 balls along the way.
Salt kick-started England's chase with 50 off just 25 deliveries taking them to 73-1 after six overs, with Will Jacks (17) dismissed with the final ball of the powerplay.
Jos Buttler's first match after four months out lasted just three minutes, as the skipper was caught by Motie for a golden duck.
However, it proved a false dawn for West Indies, with Salt and Jacob Bethall (58 from 36 balls) safely steering England to victory.
Data Debrief: Salt completes hat-trick of hundreds as Bethell makes historic half-century
England put their disappointing ODI series behind them, making history with the highest T20 chase at the Kensington Oval.
Salt was the hero with his third T20I century, all of which have come against West Indies in the past 12 months.
Bethell also made history on Saturday. Aged 21 years and 17 days, he become the youngest England player to score a 50 in a T20I.
Asalanka leads Sri Lanka to ODI series win over West Indies
Sri Lanka wrapped up the ODI series against the West Indies with a five-wicket victory in Pallekele.
The hosts successfully chased down their opponents' total of 189, giving them an unassailable 2-0 in the three-match series.
Sri Lanka controlled the early powerplay - Asitha Fernando (3-35) and Maheesh Theekshana (3-25) took two wickets apiece to leave the tourists at 31-4 in the ninth over.
Wanindu Hasaranga (4-40) then claimed three of his four wickets as Roston Chase, Romario Shepherd, Hayden Walsh and Alzarri Joseph were all dismissed in the space of 14 balls.
However, Sherfane Rutherford (80 off 82 balls) and Gudakesh Motie (50 not out) steadied the ship to take the Windies from 58-8 to 189.
Although Joseph claimed Avishka Fernando (9) in the fourth over, Nishan Madushka and Sadeera Samarawickrama both chipped in with contributions of 38 to get the hosts to 112-4.
Skipper Charith Asalanka (62 not out) led the charge thereon, while Kamindu Mendis (11) comfortably got them over the line with 34 balls remaining.
Data Debrief: Rutherford-Motie historic stand proves academic for tourists
West Indies were looking to level the series, but their hopes were not aided by Sri Lanka's impressive bowling.
Rutherford and Motie did their best. Their partnership brought 119 runs, which is their nation's highest ninth-wicket stand in ODI history, breaking the previous record of 85 between Yannic Cariah and Alzarri Joseph.
However, it ultimately proved in vain as the hosts secured the series with a game to spare.
'I was a tired, grumpy old man' - Stokes apologised to England team-mates after Pakistan defeat
Ben Stokes says he apologised to his England team-mates after his frustrations were evident during the second-Test defeat by Pakistan.
The hosts levelled the three-Test series on Thursday after wrapping up a 152-run win in Multan.
However, it could have been a different story but for fielding errors at crucial stages for the visitors, Jamie Smith and Joe Root notably dropping catches to dismiss Salman Agha, whose subsequent knock of 63 helped Pakistan seal victory with a day to spare.
Stokes, who returned to action following a hamstring injury, could not hide his frustration during a difficult day for England, but insisted he would not let his emotions get the better of him again.
"No one means to drop catches, but it just proves how important catches are in these subcontinent conditions, they don't come along that often," he told Sky Sports.
"I actually apologised to the group last night. It's the first time in my captaincy that I've let my emotions and how I was feeling with the way the game was unfolding show in my body language.
"I owned up to that and was very annoyed at myself for letting that out. It's something that I don't want to do or be seen to be doing, so I apologised to the group about that.
"Poor old me, I was a tired, grumpy old man last night! You won't see that happen again."
However, England coach Brendon McCullum defended the actions of his skipper.
"We all know how passionate Ben is, how much it means for him to play for England," he said.
"We've seen that through his bloody-mindedness to get back from injury, which was significant, and to do so in a nine-week timeframe and to have his first TM [Test match] in extreme conditions, 40 degrees, and be able to give what he gave to the side.
"I think, maybe, that's where some of that frustration led to - certainly, it wasn't directed at any of the players. It was more about trying to assess the rhythm of the game, and to impact on it."
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