Jack Leach was promoted to open by Somerset on the opening day of their County Championship fixture against Essex, as they waited for a replacement to arrive for their injured opener.
The England Test spinner came out to bat alongside Josh Thomas after Somerset bowled Essex out for 149 on a seam-friendly surface. Early in the day, usual Somerset opener Tom Kohler-Cadmore sustained a thumb-joint injury while taking a catch to dismiss Wiaan Mulder. He left the field immediately and was unable to bat when Somerset began their innings.
While Somerset had named Archie Vaughan in their squad of 14 to travel to Chelmsford, they chose to call-up Will Smeed as an injury replacement for Kohler-Cadmore. While Smeed has yet to make his first-class debut, his performance for Somerset's Second XI in Abergavenny over the last few days gave him the nod over Vaughan. Smeed made centuries in both innings of the second XI match against Cardiff UCCE, and was 209 not out in his second knock.
Match 14, Essex vs Somerset
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A spokesperson for Somerset said: "Following his performance this week for the Second XI, we felt that Will Smeed deserved this opportunity."
However, Smeed will have to travel over 200 miles to reach Chelmsford, and the speed of Essex's collapse meant he was unable to make the trip before an opener was required.
NEWS: Tom Kohler Cadmore has suffered a thumb joint injury during the Essex first innings.
— Somerset Cricket 🏆 (@SomersetCCC) April 10, 2026
He will be replaced in the lineup by Will Smeed, who is traveling to Chelmsford from the Second XI fixture at Abergavenny. #ESSvSOM #YouAreSomerset pic.twitter.com/JNIuMzLPwB
Leach, who famously batted with Ben Stokes in the Headingley Ashes Test of 2019, scoring one run in their partnership while Stokes secured an unlikely victory, was instead called-upon to open the innings. Leach previously filled the role of nightwatch on several occasions for England in Test matches. He scored 92 against Ireland at Lord's in 2019 when he came in as an opener, and also scored a century batting at No.3 for Somerset in 2024.
However, Leach's innings lasted all of 12 balls before he was clean bowled by Jamie Porter. Somerset collapsed to 35-3 by tea, having faced 11 overs, still trailing Essex by 114 runs.
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