NO RUSH FOR MO AS ENGLAND PREPARE PARKINSON

MOEEN ALI has been told to take his time over his Test comeback, with England expected to name uncapped Matt Parkinson today as their third spinner for next month’s tour of Sri Lanka. Moeen remains conflicted over ending his self-imposed exile and it is telling that the Multan Sultans all-rounder was not among the six international withdrawals announced by the Pakistan Super League on Saturday, while England’s selectors were finalising their squad for a two-match series that will clash with the competition’s fifth edition which starts on February 20. ‘If we give Mo some time now, respect his wishes and support him through that then long term we might have him back for longer,’ England coach Chris Silverwood said. The 32-year-old has given no indication of when he might resume a Test career that includes 181 wickets, having announced he would take “a short break from action” after being dropped in favour of Jack Leach during last summer’s Ashes. Leach and Somerset teammate Dom Bess took on the front-line role against Australia, New Zealand and South Africa in his absence, but England would like to reintegrate Ali before the five-Test tour of India beginning next January. ‘We want all the ammunition we can get when going to places like that,’ Silverwood added. ‘Mo is still a very valuable asset to the Test side and always will be. ‘We’ve got Bess, Leach and Parky and Mo when he’s ready to come back will give us some really good headaches.’ Lancashire’s Parkinson has found a first winter as a full international challenging but he has nonetheless been involved across all formats. His selection, ahead of Surrey off-spinner Amar Virdi, would give Joe Root a leg-spin option to complement his right and left-arm finger spinners. England will name a 16-man squad today — 17 if they take the recovering James Anderson — which aims to cover all kinds of conditions and surfaces. They are still unsure what pitches they should expect in Sri Lanka less than 18 months after securing a 3-0 whitewash there, and they have never played a Test at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Silverwood also said England need to be ‘smart with how we handle our assets’ in relation to Jofra Archer, after the fast bowler was sidelined for three months with a stress fracture of his right elbow. Silverwood suggested the dream scenario would be to rotate Archer, Mark Wood and a third bowler capable of generating 90mph pace while limiting the length of their spells.