NO RUSH FOR MO AS ENGLAND PREPARE PARKINSON
MOEEN ALI has been told to take his time over his Test comeback with the uncapped Matt Parkinson today set to be named as England’s third spinner for next month’s tour of Sri Lanka. Moeen’s mind has remained conflicted when it has come to ending his self-imposed exile and he was not one of the six international withdrawals announced by the Pakistan Super League on Sunday, the day England’s selectors finalised the squad for a two-match series that will determine whether hopes of reaching the World Test Championship final remain realistic. ‘My outlook on this is: if we can give Mo some time now and respect his wishes and support him through that, then long-term we might have him back for longer,’ said England coach Chris Silverwood. The 32-year-old has given no indication of when he might resume a Test career of 181 wickets that went into hibernation after he was dropped during last summer’s Ashes. Somerset duo Jack Leach and Dom Bess took on the front-line role versus Australia, New Zealand and South Africa in his absence but England would ideally like to reintegrate him before the five-Test tour to India this time next year. ‘We want all the ammunition we can get when going to places like that,’ added Silverwood. ‘He’s still a very valuable asset to the Test side, always has been and always will be. ‘We’ve got Bess, Leach, Parky that are all sort of there and Mo, when he’s ready to come back, will give us good headaches.’ Lancashire’s Parkinson has found a first winter as a full international challenging at times but he has been omnipresent across all formats and his selection — ahead of Surrey off-spinner Amar Virdi — would provide Joe Root with a leg-spin option to complement his right and left-arm finger spinners. England are set to name a 16-man squad (17 if they opt to take the recovering James
Anderson) this afternoon that will look to cover all types of conditions and surfaces. They are yet to glean intelligence on what pitches they can expect less than 18 months after securing a 3-0 whitewash on Sri Lankan soil but they have never played a Test at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Meanwhile, Silverwood said England now have ‘to be smart with how we handle our assets’ in relation to Jofra Archer following the fast bowler’s sidelining for three months with a stress fracture of the elbow. The dream scenario, Silverwood suggested would be to rotate Archer, Mark Wood and a third generator of 90mph pace, while limiting the length of their spells.