England Dealt With 'Massive' Blow; Ace Bowler Ruled out of Ashes 2023

Anurag Dasgupta

Leach ruled out of Ashes [Twitter] Leach ruled out of Ashes [Twitter]

Story continues below ADVERTISEMENT

With the Ashes just around the corner, England's aspirations to regain the urn has taken a massive hit as ace spinner, Jack Leach has been ruled out of the series.

Leach suffered from a lower back lumbar stress fracture and will not be able to play any part in the upcoming home series against Australia.

The left-arm seamer participated in the recently concluded one-off Test against Ireland and developed a lower back pain during Day 3 on Saturday.

Leach was taken for a precautionary scan, which revealed the extend of his injury. The 31-year-old will miss the forthcoming series against Australia, set to begin from June 16 at Edgbaston.

The England team management will announce a replacement soon.

England have been marred with injuries as of late. Speedster Jofra Archer has already been ruled out of the summer due to a recurring elbow issue. Moreover, their most experienced pacer, James Anderson was injured during a County Championship match and missed out on the Test match against Ireland.

Now, Leach’s injury has put England’s Ashes plans on the back-foot. England skipper Ben Stokes, is too, nursing a knee injury and didn’t bat or bowl in the Test match against Ireland, which they won by 10-wickets.