Spin hope Ansari set for England call

SURREY all-rounder Zafar Ansari is set for a surprise call-up as England selectors look to cover all their bases against Pakistan in the UAE in October and November. The 23-year-old, who made his international debut in the rained-off one-dayer in Dublin in May, could join Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid as England’s third spinner when the squad is named at the end of the one-day series against Australia. Not only does the suffocating heat of the Emirates demand unstinting shifts from the slow bowlers, but coach Trevor Bayliss is keen to give his side as many options as possible as England seek to improve on a 3-0 defeat by Pakistan in 2012. Ansari (right) has claimed 44 County Championship wickets for Surrey this season with his slow left-armers. Along with Ali’s off-breaks and the leg-spin of Rashid, that would give England a full hand of slow-bowling styles on dusty surfaces where they were brushed aside three years ago by Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman. Ansari has averaged 33 with the bat and this week scored a century against Derbyshire as Surrey sealed promotion to Division One. His all-round credentials are likely to earn him the nod over Lancashire’s left-arm spinner Stephen Parry, a one-day specialist who played five limited-overs matches for England in the West Indies in March 2014. Meanwhile, with Yorkshire opener Adam Lyth set to be dropped following a poor Ashes series, Alex Hales may have overtaken Ali as favourite to partner Alastair Cook at the top of the order in Abu Dhabi on October 13. Ali, who batted at No 7 during Thursday’s one-day international against Australia, had been lined up to become Cook’s seventh partner since the retirement of Andrew Strauss three years ago. But Hales, currently opening for England’s one-day and Twenty20 teams, is regarded as a better bet for December’s trip to South Africa. Also pushing for a place on the winter tours will be James Taylor, who marked his England return this week with a lively 49 at Southampton’s Ageas Bowl. His innings was not enough to spare England a 59-run defeat — a result that leaves them in need of victory today at Lord’s. Taylor was out trying to hit Shane Watson on to the M3, but insisted he would continue to attack — in line with England’s new policy and his own preferred approach. ‘When you miss you look silly, but that’s the way it is,’ he said. ‘When I bat I try to take hindsight out of the equation. If I want to take a bowler down, I’ll go into it wholeheartedly rather than pussy-foot around.’ Taylor’s dismissal was greeted by a glare from Watson as he walked past — a gesture that amused the England camp. ‘You always want to make an impression on the opposition and you know you’ve done that when you get a send-off,’ said Taylor. ‘They’ve done it a few times and it’s always nice.’