‘Big shoes to fill’: Steve Smith reflects on Jack Leach missing the Ashes

Australia’s Steve Smith has said the injury-enforced absence of England’s Jack Leach from the Ashes will leave “some big shoes for them to fill” 11 days before the series starts at Edgbaston.

Smith watched “little bits and pieces” of England’s victory over Ireland at Lord’s with his attention focused on the World Test Championship final against India, which starts at the Oval on Thursday. “It’s a real shame,” he said of Leach’s lumbar fracture. “He’s done really well for England, the last 12-18 months in particular, and it’s going to be some big shoes for them to fill. I feel for him. Hopefully he recovers well.”

Related: England could make call to Moeen Ali after Jack Leach ruled out of Ashes

Australia have an injury worry of their own with Josh Hazlewood ruled out of this week’s game with a side strain, though his participation in the Ashes does not seem to be in doubt. “I faced him out in the middle the other day and it was pretty good,” Smith said. “He was pretty close for this game and I dare say he’ll be fit the game after.”

Michael Neser, summoned from Glamorgan to join Australia’s squad as cover, took part in training at the Oval where a more unexpected presence was the former England coach Andy Flower. The Zimbabwean, who spent 12 years a variety of coaching roles with England and the Lions before leaving the ECB in 2019, is doing some informal consultancy work and is likely to be an occasional presence at Australia’s training sessions during the summer.

Meanwhile, most of the England squad gathered on Monday at the Grove in Hertfordshire for the Professional Cricketers’ Association’s annual golf day. It was supposed to be the curtain-raiser for a week of light-hearted golf-focused team-building, but Leach’s injury has prompted a few serious conversations.

England may not feel a like-for-like replacement for Leach is necessary for the first Test. Joe Root is not a frontline spinner, but he has bowled 763.2 overs in his 130 Tests and can contribute when necessary, allowing the team a little latitude. It may be that when it comes to matchday, and after assessing conditions, a fourth seamer is considered a more useful, and more aggressive, option.

But the squad will certainly be bolstered with another spinner in the coming days. Leach and Root have bowled 81% of the 1,247.5 overs of spin bowled in Tests by England in the past two years, with the next greatest contributions coming from Moeen Ali – despite having retired from Tests in 2021 – Will Jacks and Rehan Ahmed, all of whom will be considered.