Confident Ansari can put them all in a spin

HAD it not been for a cruel twist of fate which saw Zafar Ansari shatter his thumb just hours after being picked for England for the first time, the Surrey youngster could already be an established international.

Named in England’s tour squad for last autumn’s tour to the UAE to face Pakistan, the batting off-spinner had no time to celebrate before suffering the break when fielding at cover at Old Trafford against Lancashire.

Surgery followed but, despite his statistics not matching last season’s, Ansari has battled his way back into contention and on Friday was named one of three uncapped players in England’s Test squad for the tour to Bangladesh.

His thumb has troubled him throughout a season which has seen him average 27.44 with the bat and 31.41 with the ball, but Ansari is confident he is fit to tour and ready to make the step up to Test level.

‘I’m not extra protective of my thumb. I have been strapping it all summer. It was a big injury,’ he said. ‘I’m looking after it but it has been OK for a while now and I’m confident it will get through most things.

‘I feel in a similar place to where I was this time last year and, given how much I have missed, that gives me quite a lot of confidence. When I have played I’ve been in a good place with my bowling. I’m comfortable with where I am as a bowler.’

At 24, Ansari is the youngest of four spinners named in an unusually large 17-man tour party which also includes Adil Rashid, Moeen Ali and Gareth Batty.

The selection of 38-year-old Surrey captain Batty has raised eyebrows, 11 years after the last of his seven Test appearances. ‘It’s great,’ said Ansari. ‘I have now been playing with Gareth for a while and we have developed a nice relationships as spin bowlers. I’m really happy he’s going, it’s another familiar face and he will help me a lot.’

Security fears have dominated the build up to the tour, however. England one-day captain Eoin Morgan and opener Alex Hales withdrew from the squad, despite ECB assurances that the players will be protected by a ‘ring of steel’, including tanks and snipers around the team hotel. But Ansari said: ‘I’m feeling positive about it.

‘We have been given the thumbs up by the people whose job it is to do security and, from another perspective, my parents have spent quite a lot of time in Pakistan over the last few years and that’s one of the more dangerous places to go.

‘But they have always felt comfortable there so I’m happy to tour. I think it’s a good thing to do to show your solidarity with these places in difficult times.’