ENG vs NZ | Nasser Hussain compares Stokes' captaincy to of Border, Mark Taylor's

Former England captain Nasser Hussain credited Ben Stokes for backing Jack Leach after the latter bagged his first ten-wicket haul in Test Cricket.

Leach got his first five-wicket haul in the first innings of the third Test against New Zealand. He followed a first-innings return of 5-100 with an even better figure of 5-66 on Sunday (June 26) to give him the first ten-wicket haul of his career, 10-166 in the 25th Test of his career. After 48 years, the left-arm spinner became only the second England spinner to take ten wickets at the Headingley since Derek Underwood.

In his column for the Daily Mail, Hussain wrote an appreciation note on the left-arm spinner as he had been going through a lot, especially regarding his health issues and lack of assistance from the home pitches.

"You've got to be pleased for Jack Leach after everything's the lad's gone through - be it bubble life, Crohn's disease, Covid, or concussion. English pitches have not generally helped him, and he hasn't been bowling much.

"Now, he gets a surface that has offered him something, and the pressure on him to deliver. And deliver he has, in spectacular fashion - only the second England spinner to take 10 wickets in a Test at Headingley since Derek Underwood, 50 years ago."

In the first innings, Jack Leach surprisingly opened the bowling for his team with the new ball, and Hussain described that moment as the "key moment" of the match.

"For me, the key moment was the first hour of this Headingley Test, when Ben Stokes threw Leach the ball. You don't see many spinners bowling that early in Test matches up here, but the confidence that must have instilled in him has proved crucial. Not only that, but Stokes has set brilliant fields for his spinner."

The cricketer-turned commentator compared Stokes' style of captaining the spinners with the likes of Allan Border and Mark Taylor.

"Shane Warne always used to say how much he enjoyed playing under captains who understood spin bowling, like Allan Border and Mark Taylor. Leach may now be saying the same about Stokes."