As Leach returns, Parkinson debate burns

England announced their eleven to face New Zealand at Trent Bridge a day before the game. No waiting for the toss to get the team news. A vital element of the McCullum/Stokes positive mindset is clarity for the team on a mission, approach and personnel. 

Technically, England is unchanged from Lord's. However, Jack Leach's left arm (together with the occasionally accident-prone rest of him) is back in the side. The one thing you can be sure of with Leach is that he will give everything for the cause. A point he was emphatically proving in just the sixth over on the first morning at Lord's when he strained every sinew to chase down Devon Conway's drive and landed on his head. 

But just as the clouds at Lord's parted on the first morning, Leach's misfortune was a dark cloud with one silver lining. As soon as he was making his way, somewhat shakily, up the Pavilion steps, somewhere near Manchester, Matt Parkinson was about to prod a fork into his barbeque sausage. 

By late afternoon he was ready to finally make his England Test debut. No high vis jacket and drink carrying trays this time. It was the real thing. Parkinson was England's first concussion substitute in Tests, but at Lord's, he followed in the footsteps of Marnus Labuschagne, whose opportunity for Australia replacing Steve Smith in 2019. Considering the trajectory of Marnus's Test career since the 'concussion sub' opportunity knocked, Parkinson and his many advocates might consider the prophecy to be a positive one.  

Although played out in extraordinary circumstances, Parkinson's debut was perhaps a little ordinary. Unused in the Kiwi's first innings, which had succumbed to Anderson's seam-based experience and youthful zest, Broad, Stokes and young Mathew Potts before he arrived. Then, tidy enough in the Kiwi second dig, whilst also bagging a first Test wicket, he tossed one outside of Southee's off stump to entice the drive and duly found the edge. 

Early season Lord's is rarely a paradise for spinners. Former Middlesex off-spinner Ollie Raynor once quipped that the best thing a spinner there can do is learn how to bat, and you have to allow for debut nerves as well in Parkinson's case. 

Let's not forget that the great Shane Warne took 1 for 150 on his debut at the SCG. Lord's, however, was a very happy hunting ground for the man against whom all leg spinners will forever be judged, his 19 wickets in four Tests came at just 19.5. 

Had he not fallen, Jack Leach could have claimed a tidy record at Lord's. Although he has rarely had a heavy workload, his four wickets in three Test matches to date are coming at a shade over twenty. 

Given the McCullum attacking mindset that demands twenty wickets, even if they come a little expensively, is England right to go straight back to Leach? Next to Brexit and whether or not one likes Marmite, that seems to be the most divisive and polarising of questions, with supporters falling firmly into one camp or other. Or maybe that is just the ones I tend to hang out with. So here is; hopefully, some objectivity applied to the case of left armer Leach against leggy Parkinson. 

The first consideration is the McCullum/Stokes mentality. Whilst batting and bowling talent is striving to be noticed in the championship, not to mention a bowling injury crisis, England picked just one debutant at Lords. And Potts went pretty well too. 

The language of 'reset' has been replaced by "clean slate', which suggests giving the incumbent players a chance to shine in a new environment and not be judged by the later downbeat decline of a previous regime. On that basis, if Leach was picked originally and is now fit, he should play. 

Current first-class Division One stats partially support that, with Leach comfortably the top spinner by average, with twelve wickets at twenty from five games. Parkinson, on the other hand, has double the wickets (24) from the same number of outings but more expensively (26). Moreover, whilst economy rates are similar, Parkinson has bowled more than twice as many overs as Leach this season.  

Those stats lead to the second consideration - attacking qualities. A concern often levelled at Parkinson is the lack of pace for Test cricket. The comparison with Warne leads critics to question his ability to shoot balls through. Does he, they ask, have the variety of pace and bounce to complement his undoubted flight and turn?   

Looking at the discussion in our OneCricket Twitter poll, I see that the question was raised with a reply from Anindya Dutta, author of the excellent 'Wizards: The Story of Indian Spin Bowling'. In the Parkie camp, Anindya points out that "the pace of a spinner's delivery per se provides no guarantee of his effectiveness in Test cricket" "Underwood and Bedi, Chandra and Warne", he says. "I rest my case". 

I'm not sure the case is rested, but the argument is well taken.

Our final consideration must be track record and current form. Leach has taken 79 Test wickets at an average of 31, to Parkinson's single Lord's wicket at 47, which is an unfair comparison. 

A look at overall first-class records is more revealing. Leach's 368 first-class wickets have come at 27 to Parkinson's 127 wickets at 22. Allowing for Parkinson having played only a third of the number of games, he has a similar strike rate but is more cost-effective. 

Some will point out that Leach has also enjoyed a fair degree of 'home advantage' on Taunton turners. Parkinson showed the more significant early season form this season, whereas Leach has grown in impact as the season progressed. 

All of this leads me to conclude that Parkinson should get his chance, but should it be right now? I don't think the slightly longer tail evident with Parkinson in the side will trouble Brendon McCullum or Ben Stokes. 

Stokes, of all people, will remember Leach's famous Headingley support act, not to mention his 92 at Lords. But I do think they believe that there are different criteria now to judge a frontline spinner's effectiveness. Leach must deliver against these new expectations from the get-go, or Parkinson will get an extended chance.