Jack Leaning is targeting an increased role with the ball for Yorkshire this summer.
The 24-year-old batsman has been working hard on his off-spinners in order to give the White Rose coaches more options and him a greater chance of winning selection.
Leaning’s spin bowling has always been part of his armoury, although a feature of his game that has very much been part-time to date.
In 132 senior appearances across all forms, he has bowled only 101 overs and taken 12 wickets.
But, with Adil Rashid stepping away from Championship cricket for the time being, the more options Andrew Gale can call upon, the better.
And he has been helped by former Yorkshire and England off-spinner Jack Birkenshaw, who won the Championship twice with the county in 1959 and 1960 before moving to Leicestershire.
“I’ve put quite a lot of hard work into my batting first and foremost to get that back to where I want it to be,” explained York’s Leaning.
“But I’ve done quite a lot bowling wise as well. Hopefully that will come out and make its way into the middle this year.
“It gives you that little bit of an edge with selection. If there’s a tight call and you can offer both disciplines, it gives that extra option.
“It’s just been about dedicating a few more hours to something I’ve always worked on without perhaps spending as much time on as I’d have wanted to.
“It’s helped having some specialist coaching.
“We’ve had Jack Birkenshaw coming in quite a bit, and I’ve been working closely with Rich Pyrah on things to do with my action.
“It’s been the same as it was when I was a young lad with my batting, working out what suits me best and how I can best go about it.
“Hopefully it will go alright this year.”
