Adil Rashid’s inclusion in the squad for the second Test is indicative of Trevor Bayliss’s belief that England will never again be the best in the world unless they have a world-class spinner.
Bayliss rushed Rashid into the squad for the Ashes last year, but he did not play Test cricket until England faced Pakistan last winter in the United Arab Emirates, where the Yorkshireman had mixed results against expert players of spin in conditions conducive to slow bowling.
Now Rashid, who has become an integral part of England’s limited-overs attack, could play alongside his friend Moeen Ali in a two-pronged spin attack on an Old Trafford ground that usually favours spin.
Rashid could replace Moeen if England go with one spinner and feel they are better served by a bowler who can turn the ball away from Pakistan’s right-handers.
The big question is whether either man will ever be as effective as Graeme Swann, who remains the most sorely missed member of the last England side to go top of the world, or Yasir Shah, who destroyed them at Lord’s.
There are two enormously promising young leg-spinners who could go on to fulfil Bayliss’s wish for that world-class slow bowler. Matt Parkinson of Lancashire trained with England before the first Test to try to replicate Yasir’s skills and is likely to do so again at Old Trafford today.
Fellow 19-year-old Mason Crane, of Hampshire, is also highly regarded within the England set-up.
Daily Mail