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It is one of English cricket’s biggest problems — the apparent and perennial dearth of top-quality spin bowling in the red-ball game.
It is an issue that led England to pluck Shoaib Bashir from virtual county obscurity two years ago and groom him to be their Ashes spinner, only to lose their nerve when his moment came. Instead, they turned to Will Jacks, a batter who bowls off-spin as a second suit.
So serious is the ‘problem’ that one of the many spinners to try and fail to become the answer to England’s Test prayers, Glamorgan’s Mason Crane, bemoaned the slow bowler’s lot in an article in the April edition of The Cricketer in which he said there was a lack of respect and appreciation for the skills involved in spin bowling throughout English cricket.
But is the situation that desperate? And are England really that short of spin options when they decide who will be their slow bowler — if anyone — for their first Test series of the summer against New Zealand in June?
The Athletic talked to three finger spinners in county cricket and their coaches to determine the state of slow bowling in England. They are at different stages of their careers, but all bely the assumption that the art of spin is on its knees in English red-ball cricket.
And, crucially, all of them have realistic Test ambitions this summer or beyond.
The veteranJack Leach
Age: 34
County: Somerset
Style: Slow left-arm
Career: 39 Tests for England, 142 wickets at 34.07; 166 first-class matches, 549 wickets at 27.62
Leach will always be known for the most significant score of one not out in Test history when, as a No 11, he joined Ben Stokes for an extraordinary hour at Headingley against Australia in 2019 as the pair added an unbeaten 76 to pull off the most unlikely victory.
But it is as arguably the best spinner in domestic cricket that he has earned recognition in 39 Tests and enjoyed considerable success under the captaincy of Stokes before England decided to back the potential of Bashir and, seemingly, drew a line under the name of Leach.
Now 34, Leach is pushing for a recall after two seasons away from the international picture in which he took more than 50 wickets in the County Championship each year for Somerset.
“I feel in a good place and I’m still learning my trade and craft,” Leach tells The Athletic. “I don’t think that will ever change. Everyone says you develop later as a spinner so I’m trying to do everything I can to improve and see where that peak is.
“I’m still trying to get better, trying to learn as much as I can about the game and about spin bowling, and put all that into practice. I’m excited about what this season could bring.”
Jack Leach has taken 50 wickets in the County Championship in each of the last two seasons (Harry Trump/Getty Images)
Leach is one of the few spinners in county cricket guaranteed his place in early season conditions that provide so little assistance for spin bowling, and which form a big part of the problem with seven rounds of Championship matches scheduled before the end of May.
But the veteran believes there is definitely a place for the spinner at this time of year. It is just a question of adapting to the pitches provided.
“You have to have an open mind,” he says. “If you think you won’t get any help and don’t have a role in April, you shouldn’t be in the team. There’s a massive role to play and it’s just finding ways to be effective. It can really help a spinner to play when the wicket’s not offering much. I’ve always found that a great time to practise skills you will need in a Test when the pitch is flat and you have to find a way to be effective.
“It can come with experience. There is certainly a different mind-set at this time of year. Batters might see your presence as an opportunity to go after you and that can create chances. Sometimes the wickets are better than you think in April and May. It’s not like they’re spinning, but they’re not always offering much help to the seamers either. That’s when you can get in a game as a spinner and learn that containing role.”
There is a perception that Leach has been assisted by the reputation of his home ground of Taunton as housing the most spin-friendly pitches in England, a label that has led them into disciplinary trouble with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
But tell that to Leach and one of the nicest men in cricket comes as close as he ever will to bristling at the perceived advantages he has had at Somerset. “I find it mentally hard to deal with when people say that because I feel I’ve bowled on a range of surfaces here and, historically, Taunton is a very good wicket,” he says.
“I don’t think the narrative of Taunton being a turning pitch is helpful to me. But I also feel lucky to have the opportunity to bowl on surfaces that do turn because they’re what got me into the England team in the first place.
Jack Leach is applauded after a six-wicket haul against Durham last summer (Harry Trump/Getty Images)
“I’ve got wickets and I’ve bowled a lot of overs that perhaps other spinners at the time weren’t bowling. But with that comes responsibility to take wickets and you have to be able to bowl on all surfaces. In general, it’s better if we celebrate when our spinners take wickets rather than saying something like: ‘It’s Taunton, it’s turning, that’s why he’s doing well.’ We don’t appear to have the same attitude towards seam.”
Leach wants to do enough in Somerset’s five remaining games before the first Test against New Zealand on June 4 to persuade England he is worth another go.
“I’ve always played cricket to try to play for England,” he says sitting in the stands at Taunton. “I don’t think I’d get much enjoyment from my cricket if I was not trying to play at the highest level.
“I don’t know if it’s possible for me to play for England again but I’m not going to stop trying. I’m lucky to have had the experiences I had with England. I had great fun under Ben (Stokes) and Baz (coach Brendon McCullum) first time round and we won a lot of games. It definitely leaves you wanting more.”
Somerset head coach Jason Kerr and Jack Leach in conversation at training (Harry Trump/Getty Images)
The coach’s view: Somerset’s Jason Kerr calls Leach “world-class” and “the best spinner in England”. He believes that, if England are picking their best operator this summer, then it has to be his man.
“Jack’s incredible,” Kerr tells The Athletic. “I get to work with him day in, day out so there’s a huge confirmation bias, but his hunger to learn and evolve is phenomenal. He puts in tremendous performances away from home as well as at Taunton and hopefully he will get the recognition he still deserves this summer and beyond.
“I do get frustrated when people say Jack benefits from playing at Taunton because it’s disrespectful to him. People don’t talk about the surfaces when they talk about the great seamers because the skill level of somebody like Jimmy Anderson is so high. It’s the same with Jack. He’s in our team at this time of year because he’s a very good bowler.
“The narrative of spinners only playing when the pitch turns should be wrong. It’s how good they are as a bowler, and Jack is the very best in England.”
The established county spinnerJack Carson
Age: 25
County: Sussex
Style: Off-spin
Career: 65 first-class matches, 177 wickets at 33.92
Jack Carson is one of the best — and most combative — spinners in the Championship.
He is one of the increasing number of bowlers in English cricket purveying a type of slow bowling that is perhaps the least glamorous in the spin repertoire, and at one stage appeared to be dying out in the modern game: right-arm off-spin.
“It’s easy for a spinner to develop a bit of a ‘woe is me’ mentality because of how tough it can be and the time of year much of the first-class cricket is played,” says Carson. “But that doesn’t help you get the best out of yourself or make the most of the situation you find yourself in.
“You have to try to impact the game in whatever way you can. That might look different in mid-summer to how it does at the start of the season. Impacting the game might be bowling 20 overs, going at twos and threes an over and playing a holding role while the seamers are rotated at the other end.
Jack Carson bowling for Sussex against Somerset early last summer (Harry Trump/Getty Images)
“Impacting a game on another day might be needing to bowl a team out, and that’s the thing I love about spin bowling. You find yourself in so many different situations and there are so many ways you can influence a game.
“Obviously it would be great to bowl on a sub-continental type red-soil turner every day, but that isn’t the case. So it’s about figuring out ways you can be as effective as possible every time you turn up and whatever the conditions are.
“I don’t think there’s any point getting too down about life as a spinner. I wish I was 6ft 6in and bowled at 90 miles per hour, but I’m not and I don’t. I bowl off-spin so I try to make the best of that.
“I did bowl seam until I was 12 but I wanted to be like Kyle McCallan who bowled off-spin, so that’s where that came from. Looking back now I wish Kyle had bowled leg-spin and I might have taken that up and had a few more quid in my pocket. But I’ll be alright.
“People say off-spin is the easiest thing to bowl in cricket, but it’s also the hardest to do really well because you’re usually bowling at right-handers and turning the ball into them with fewer revs (revolutions) on the ball. But that’s the exciting challenge of it.”
As well as being a lower middle order batter capable enough to make his maiden first-class century last year, he has become an integral member of the Sussex side. This season his growing reputation and maturity has seen him appointed Sussex’s 50-over captain.
Jack Carson will captain Sussex in 50-over cricket this summer (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
The 25-year-old took an unusual route into county cricket when, as a 12-year-old growing up in Waringstown, Northern Ireland, his club captain and Ireland international Kyle McCallan contacted fellow Irishman Ed Joyce and asked if the youngster could undertake a trial with Sussex.
“It’s been a good journey,” says Carson, talking to The Athletic at the County Ground in Hove. “I’ve still got the Irish accent, but Hove and Sussex are my home away from home, and my brothers live here now too.
“I probably came out of the blocks better than I could have imagined when I first played for Sussex, but there are always little ups and downs. Now it’s been five or six years of sustained time in the team and I feel I’ve driven games and won one or two.
“When you make your debut you’re happy, but the next goal is becoming a consistent player in the team, then it’s being a leading player and then a captain or going on to higher honours. There are always more goals to achieve but it’s great to become an established player with Sussex.”
Carson’s natural on-field aggression has sometimes got the better of him and led him into disciplinary trouble, but it is a side of his game he believes is under control.
“Over the last couple of years I’ve tried to be competitive without letting the wrong side of it engulf me,” he says. “I will always err on the side of being overly-competitive, but now it’s making sure it’s not to my detriment. I’ve got more emotional control. I’ve learned it doesn’t have to be jumping in and shouting.”
He has earned recognition with the England Lions. The next step is to fulfil an ambition he has held since growing up in Northern Ireland.
“My goal, probably at times to the detriment of my white-ball development, has always been to play Test cricket for England,” he says. “I remember being brought over as a child to watch England against Pakistan at Edgbaston, and that was to support England. I probably wasn’t ready when I was first picked for the Lions, but hopefully I can get closer to that goal.
“It’s pretty simple. I need wickets, runs and match-winning performances.”
Sussex coach Paul Farbrace (Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
The coach’s view: Sussex’s Paul Farbrace is convinced Carson can go all the way to the top. “He’s one of the best, if not the best, finger spinner in England,” Farbrace tells The Athletic. “As an off-spinner he’s as good as there is.
“From a technical point of view he probably just needed to bowl the ball a bit quicker and, over the winter, he’s got himself a little bit more onto his front leg so the weight is forward a little bit more when he delivers, which has enabled him to bowl quicker.
“Secondly, he had to work on his temperament. He’s such a fierce competitor that he wants to be in the game all the time. Perhaps there were times when things weren’t going his way and everyone in the crowd could see it. He’d be kicking the ground and looking angry. But he’s honed that and is in a lot better place in dealing with bad and good.
“One of the reasons I made him captain of the 50-over comp is he will have to think about other people and stay in the game situation. If he gets hit for four or six he won’t be able to lose his head. He’s learning all the time and I’ve no doubt he will absolutely fly.”
The gifted novice with huge promiseFarhan Ahmed
Age: 18
County: Nottinghamshire
Style: Off-spin bowler
Career: 14 first-class matches, 39 wickets at 34.82
Farhan Ahmed may be known now as the younger brother of leg-spinning England all-rounder Rehan Ahmed, but he is well on the way to making a name in his own right.
Farhan, 18, became the youngest bowler in County Championship history to take 10 wickets in a match, eclipsing the record of WG Grace, on his debut for Nottinghamshire against champions Surrey, aged 16, towards the end of the 2024 season. He made an equally instant impact in white-ball cricket last year when he became the first Notts Outlaws bowler to take a hat-trick in the T20 Blast, against Lancashire at Trent Bridge.
Now he is competing for an early season place in defending champions Notts’ red-ball side along with another bowler of promise, the more experienced slow left-armer Liam Patterson-White. But Ahmed is clearly the young spinner to watch in English cricket.
Farhan Ahmed kick starts his run up (Harry Trump/Getty Images)
“Farhan is one I’d be looking at for England straight away,” Graeme Swann, England’s last truly world-class spinner, told the Sunday Times. “He’s got the potential to be a world-class spinner for the next 15 years if he’s given the right guidance.”
It is some reference, and one Ahmed has looked capable of living up to since his father Ismail urged him to become an off-spinner so that, one day, he could play in the same England side as his leg-spinning older brother. It is a lofty ambition that could well be realised.
“As soon as Rehan became a leggie it was: ‘OK, what do I want to be?’,” Farthan tells The Athletic. “Will it be a right-arm seamer or an off-spinner? With dad’s encouragement I became an offie and I’m very happy about that. The idea is that, in time, and if we both keep working hard, we can play in the same team down the line. Hopefully it will come.”
For Farhan, Leicestershire’s Rehan — another contender for that England Test place — is the perfect role model.
“I’m very proud of what he has achieved,” says the younger Ahmed. “We live together, train together and talk about the game all the time. Our relationship is unbelievable and I wouldn’t want it any other way. He always helps me in every situation and I’m extremely grateful for that.”
But, naturally, there has been some brotherly banter. “He does tease me and says that off-spin is boring,” says Farhan. “But he does understand how difficult it is to bowl, especially in the modern game with how batters play.
“It can be hard being an off-spinner, especially with how the game is moving, but I back my skills. I have always looked up to Ravi Ashwin (the former India spinner) and Nathan Lyon (of Australia) because what they’ve achieved in the game is incredible. As long as I keep working hard and developing, off-spin will be the right choice for me.”
Farhan Ahmed is congratulated by his England Under-19 team-mates in Cape Town in February 2025 (Grant Pitcher/Gallo Images/Getty Images)
Ahmed thought he was going to have a chance to meet his great idol Lyon when the Australian signed for a short stint at Lancashire in 2024. But school got in the way.
“We played Lancashire at Southport and I thought it was going to be the perfect opportunity to meet Lyon and pick his brains,” says Farhan at Trent Bridge. “But I had a GCSE exam that week so I couldn’t go and be 12th man. It was such a shame but, unfortunately, the exam couldn’t be missed. At least I passed!”
Ahmed has experienced how tough life as an off-spinner can be. In the Under-19 World Cup final in February in Harare, he and England came up against India’s extraordinary 15-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi. The most exciting young batter in world cricket smashed 175 off just 80 balls and England’s off-spinner went wicket-less for 77 runs in his 10 overs.
“I did find that a little difficult to deal with,” says Farhan. “He hit me pretty well. Looking back there are ways I might have bowled differently, but he had a day out. Hopefully it will work out better for me the next time I bowl at him.”
It is an enticing prospect to think that next time could come in a Test.
“The feedback I’ve had from the Under-19s and previous Lions experiences is that my game is heading in the right direction,” he says. “There are always things to work on. I want to offer something in all three facets of the game. This is only my second full season so I’d be lying if I said I’d mastered it already. I just want to keep learning and improving.”
Nottinghamshire coach Peter Moores (Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
The coach’s view: Notts and former England coach Peter Moores is highly impressed with his young spinner and offers him as evidence of why the future of spin bowling in England is in good hands.
“Farhan has had a great start,” Moores tells The Athletic. “I love his intensity and he has the attitude of a quick bowler. He’s absolutely at you and we saw that on his debut when he got 10 wickets in the game. He was bowling at Will Jacks, who twice hit him out of the ground. Then Farhan got him and his celebration was like Brett Lee. It was great. I loved it.
“He’s young and he’s still developing, but he makes things happen. Bowling off-spin in England isn’t easy but I expect him to get better and better. He’s really exciting.”