The opening day of the England vs. New Zealand witnessed a bizarre scene Test at The Lord’s. Jack Leach was forced to walk off inside the first hour of play after showing the signs of concussion. In an attempt to save a boundary, the English spinner bumped his head into the boundary cushions. After being diagnosed with a concussion, he had to be withdrawn from the ongoing Test.
Following the incident, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) called up Matt Parkinson as a concussion substitute for Leach. The former, who wasn’t a part of the squad, had to rush after receiving a late call. And now, he is set to make his Test debut when the proceedings begin on Friday.
Leach’s concussion incident
The incident happened during the first hour of the opening day (Thursday). Kiwi batter Devon Conway edged one between gully and backward point sending Leach on a long chase from the backward point region. The fielder dived to save a boundary but ended up hurting himself.
Leach looked uncomfortable before being attended to by the physios from both teams. Later, he was off the field.
England bowler Jack Leach has withdrawn from the first Test against New Zealand with concussion and has been replaced by Matt Parkinson 🏏 pic.twitter.com/R8TJozfs6V
—SkySportsNews (@SkySportsNews) June 2, 2022
“Jack Leach has symptoms of concussion following his head injury whilst fielding. As per concussion guidelines, he has been withdrawn from this Test. We will confirm a concussion replacement in due course,” said the ECB in a tweet.
Why did Matt Parkinson have to be named?
Since the hosts didn’t have any other spinner in their squad for this contest, the ECB had to summon Parkinson, who was 320 kilometers away from the venue, in Manchester. He is set to play his first Test for England.
Parkinson, who represents Lancashire, is a well-known face in the English domestic circuit and is among the prolific bowlers. He has already provided his mettle in this year’s County Championship with 24 wickets in 5 encounters.
As far as his First-Class career is concerned, Parkinson has played 37 matches and scalped 126 wickets, averaging 23.84. He also becomes England’s first-ever concussion substitute once he takes the field at the Lord’s.
Parkinson made his ODI debut in 2020 against South Africa in Cape Town. I have played his first T20I against New Zealand during the 2019 tour.
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