Full Name

Joseph Leach

Born

October 30, 1990, Stafford, Staffordshire

Age

33y 141d

Batting Style

Right hand Bat

Bowling Style

Right arm Fast medium

Playing Role

Bowling Allrounder

Education

Shrewsbury School

RELATIONS

(brother)

Joe Leach, a thickset and bustling seam bowling allrounder, has won considerable respect for his efforts on behalf of Worcestershire, so much so that he was appointed as captain in succession to Daryl Mitchell at the end of 2016.

Leach established himself as a key member of the Worcestershire side with a series of consistent performances in 2015 and ended the season named as the club's vice-captain. The following summer, his all-round impact with bat and ball persuaded Worcestershire that he had become the heartbeat of the club.

Leach bowled nearly 500 Championship overs and took 65 wickets to sustain Worcestershire's challenge in a season in which their bowling performances dipped. He also carried a threat with the bat, making a career-best 107 not out at the end of the season against Derbyshire, who had been the second division's whipping boys all season.

One of several men at the club to have developed, in part at least, through Shrewsbury School (where he was captain) and the Worcestershire Academy, Leach also represented Staffordshire and Shropshire in Minor Counties cricket before making his first-class debut Leeds/Bradford MCCU in 2012, while studying French and Philosophy at the University of Leeds. After taking 4 for 73 in the first innings, he scored a half-century in his second as side, chasing 315, fell three short of a memorable victory. His Championship debut followed in August of the same year.

Although he claimed a maiden first-class century against Gloucestershire in 2013 and a maiden five-wicket haul against Kent in 2014, it was not until 2015 that he cemented his place in the Worcestershire side, so much so that he was named as vice captain at the end of the season. Maintaining a nagging line and length at a fast-medium pace, he claimed 59 wickets in the first division of the County Championship - no Worcestershire bowled claimed more - and also took a hat-trick from the first three ball of a List A match against Northants, though it was not enough to prevent his side from slipping to defeat. He also registered three half-centuries and finished the season with 498 Championship runs at an average only fractionally under 30.

Frustration abounded in 2018 when he was ruled out of much of the summer with a stress fracture.
ESPNcricinfo staff

Joe Leach Career Stats

Bowling

FormatMatInnsBallsRunsWktsBBIBBMAveEconSR4w5w10w
FC12822721772119374506/4410/12226.523.2848.321171
List A595825892501574/304/3043.875.7945.4200
T20s54498491355525/335/3326.059.5716.3010

Batting & Fielding

FormatMatInnsNORunsHSAveBFSR100s50s4s6sCtSt
FC12818826382111423.58619461.6822352134310
List A5946149038828.21853105.86039920210
T20s543382612410.44230113.4700256100

Recent Matches of Joe Leach

MatchBatBowlDateGroundFormat
WORCS vs Yorkshire362/81 & 0/2626-Sep-2023LeedsFC
WORCS vs Durham8*0/6419-Sep-2023WorcesterFC
WORCS vs Glamorgan1 & 10*2/39 & 3/3903-Sep-2023WorcesterFC
WORCS vs Hampshire60/6027-Aug-2023SouthamptonList A
WORCS vs Sussex--0/4020-Aug-2023WorcesterList A

Photos of Joe Leach

Joe Leach is one of the characters of the county circuit
Joe Leach roars in celebration
Joe Leach celebrates a wicket
Joe Leach celebrates a breakthrough
Joe Leach bellows his approval at winning a decision
Joe Leach took four wickets in a devastating five-over spell