Unorthodox style delayed success, but opportunities from T20 and Hundred mean Lintott’s life is poised to change
Three years ago, England were in a pickle. Wary of the threat of Kuldeep Yadav in the upcoming Test series against India, they wanted to call up a left-arm wrist-spinner from the county game who could replicate Kuldeep’s unusual style in the nets. The problem: there weren’t any. In fact, left-arm wrist-spinners are so rare in English cricket that it has been more than half a century – since the days of Johnny Wardle and Donald Carr – since this country produced one of any repute. That is, until now.
Three years ago, Jake Lintott was being released by Gloucestershire and wondering if his last chance as a professional cricketer had come and gone. Making it as a spinner in county cricket is hard enough, but try being a 25-year-old unorthodox spinner bowling a style not seen in this country since Harold Wilson was in Downing Street. With a steady job coaching cricket at Queen’s College in Taunton, few could have blamed Lintott for giving up on his dream.
