Leach says freak Nicholls wicket all part of 'silly' cricket

England's Jack Leach was left reflecting on a "silly game" after capturing the wicket of Henry Nicholls in bizarre fashion on the opening day of the third Test against New Zealand at Headingley.

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.

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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