England vs New Zealand, 3rd Test: Jack Leach says freak Henry Nicholls wicket all part of 'silly' cricket

The left-arm spinner's career has been blighted by illness, injury, inconsistent selection and even a concussion suffered while chasing the ball to the boundary in the first Test of this three-match campaign at Lord's. So he was arguably due a moment of good fortune and it arrived a day after his 31st birthday. Nicholls, on the stroke of tea, drove hard at Leach only for the ball to ricochet off non-striker Daryl Mitchell's bat and loop gently to Alex Lees at mid-off. "It was unbelievable, I've never seen anything like it," Leach told reporters following Thursday's close. "I didn't even know if that was allowed, but I'll take any wicket I can get. You get enough that don't go your way. It was very unlucky for Nicholls but very lucky for me."

If that was a bonus wicket, there was no denying the skill with which Leach had struck with his first ball of the day to have Will Young lbw with a delivery that turned and straightened. Leach, considering the contrast between his wickets in an economical return of two for 75 in 30 overs, added: "It's a silly game isn't it? That's what it made me think, it's a stupid game we play. "I like it because it says two wickets up on the board but I don't like the dismissal." New Zealand batting coach Luke Ronchi accepted Leach's luck in sporting fashion but suggested Nicholls may have felt differently about an extraordinary end to a grafting innings of 19 off 99 balls. "I like those sort of things that happen, you can always say you were there at the time and if you take those factors out of the game it could make things pretty boring," said Ronchi. "Unfortunately for Henry, it's his demise. We gave him a bit of space afterwards."

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