England spinner Jack Leach has been withdrawn from the first Test against New Zealand at Lord`s after he showed concussion symptoms following a heavy fall while fielding. Matt Parkinson will be the concussion substitute for the bowler.
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"Jack Leach has symptoms of concussion following his head injury whilst fielding. As per concussion guidelines, he has been withdrawn from this Test," ECB said in a tweet.
"Lancashire spinner Matthew Parkinson has been confirmed as Jack Leach's concussion replacement. He will join the camp later today and can go straight into our XI," ECB added
Parkinson is a leg-spinner from Lancashire. He has taken 126 wickets from 37 first-class cricket games. Leach, playing his first home Test since Ashes 2019 suffered an injury during the sixth over of the game while chasing a drive-by stylish southpaw Devon Conway to the backward point boundary. As he dived and dragged the ball back from the edge of the rope, Leach landed heavily on his head and seemed to have injured his neck in the process
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New Zealand's medical team attended to him for several minutes and he was able to walk back to the pavilion. After subsequent examination from the medical team of ECB, it was decided to withdraw Leech from the match.
Parkinson has played nine games for England across the white-ball formats. The spinner has regularly featured in touring squads over the last two years. He has taken 24 wickets at 25.95 in the county championship this season, the most of any spinner in the country.
New Zealand won the toss and opted to bat first. Their innings are in progress. Both sides are playing a three-Test series, with the next Test match set to take place from June 10 and the final one from June 23 onwards. The series is a part of the ICC World Test Championship 2021-23.
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(With inputs from Reuters)
