PARKINSON: I’M RAW BUT READY
Improving spinner makes case for Test call-up
Matt Parkinson has spent the winter on tour with England without ever looking ready for a test appearance. But yesterday he moved a little closer towards that debut.
it may be premature to think about the young and still raw leg-spinner facing up to sri Lanka in Galle and Colombo just yet but Parkinson looked more at home with a red ball in his hands than at any time during three largely inactive senior trips.
England were only facing an inexperienced sri Lanka Cricket Xi on the second day of this two-test tour but Parkinson bowled with accuracy and varied his pace intelligently in taking four wickets as the hosts were bowled out for 245.
there is little doubt the 23-yearold Lancastrian would not be here had Moeen ali or adil rashid been available to attempt to replicate the success they had in sri Lanka on England’s last trip 14 months ago in an unexpected 3-0 victory.
Even with so few spin options available to England, Parkinson was perhaps a little fortunate to be picked after looking out of his depth the last time he was seen in a competitive red-ball match, in Benoni at the start of the south african tour.
But England believe he is learning under the guidance of new spin coach Jeetan Patel and are prepared to play the long-game with a bowler who still sees himself first and foremost as a white-ball cricketer.
‘i think so because of the amount of white-ball cricket i’ve played,’ said Parkinson when asked if he still feels more comfortable in coloured clothing. ‘i’m still very raw with the red ball and i think people forget that, as a spinner, you develop later.
‘ Expectations are raised when you’ve been on three test tours but i’ve only played 20 first-class games.’
England look certain to play two specialist spinners in the first test at Galle, as opposed to three in the 2018 series, and the odds are still on those places being filled by the somerset pair Dom Bess and Jack Leach, as long as the latter recovers from injury. But if Leach is still feeling his calf problem and Parkinson gets the nod for the first- class match next week that completes England’s preparations then it is no longer a foregone conclusion that he is here simply to look and learn.
‘i’ve not thought about a test cap yet after the way the warm-ups went for me in new Zealand and south africa when i didn’t perform as well as i would have liked,’ said Parkinson. ‘But i hope i’m becoming a better bowler. there are more opportunities for spin in sri Lanka and i’ll try to get picked for the four- day warm-up game and then we’ll see.’
Parkinson was not the only Lancastrian to impress. saqib Mahmood, a late replacement for Mark Wood, displayed enough skiddy pace in taking one for 13 to show why he has been awarded a fast-bowling contract. Mahmood, too, is still an outsider for Galle on thursday week but he did no harm at all to his chances of providing the extra pace that is lacking in England’s attack in the absence of Wood, Jofra archer and olly stone.
England had to work hard on a flat pitch to earn a first innings lead of 71 — Bess also bowled well in taking three wickets — and extended it by 39 at the close of the second of three days.