Moeen Ali
Moeen is a vastly experienced veteran of 64 Tests – of all English spinners, only Derek Underwood and Graeme Swann have taken more wickets than his 195 – and an excellent batsman, but he retired from Test cricket in September 2021 and has not played a first-class game since, explaining that he “found it difficult to get in the zone” to deal with the format’s unique challenges.
Adil Rashid
Rashid has not played a first-class match since making his nineteenth Test appearance in Barbados in January 2019. Since then, he has won two white-ball World Cups. Last year, however, he discussed the possibility of a return with Brendon McCullum and was encouraged. I have not given up on Test cricket. “I have not retired or anything similar,” he explained. “It is something that remains. Everyone desires to play Test cricket, and I am no exception.”
Liam Dawson
Dawson has participated in all England squads for years, however he has only played three Tests and none since 2017. Not since 2011 has he failed to bowl at least 1,000 deliveries in an English red-ball summer, and his experience, knowledge of England’s players, and left-arm action, which makes him a genuine like-for-like replacement for Leach, makes him an appealing choice.
Rehan Ahmed
Ahmed, who is still only 18 years old, is a bowler of immense promise who has been fast-tracked into the international set-up, making debuts in all three formats in the last year. Earlier this year, he described his involvement in the Ashes as a “dream.” England may decide to prioritise the long future and regret playing Ahmed so young in the Ashes.
Will Jacks
Jacks, like Ahmed, made his Test debut in Pakistan last year, taking six wickets in his first innings as an international red-ball bowler, but he is still learning his craft, having bowled just 12 overs in three games for Surrey in this season’s County Championship. In February, he stated, “My Test debut has given me the confidence that I can be a Test bowler.” I would not have believed that possible a year ago. Liam Livingstone
“He bowls off-spin, leg-spin, fields well, and smashes the ball out of the park,” says Brendon McCullum of Livingstone. “It’s hard not to like a player who plays like that.” Livingstone’s long-held desire to play Test cricket was eventually realized last winter. However, he was viewed as the team’s third-best spinner behind Leach and Jacks, and this is a very different prospect.
Another mariner
Only 15 of England’s 125 wickets in seven Tests played at Edgbaston over the past decade were taken by spinners. In that time, it has taken English spinners an average of 80,6 deliveries and seamers 45,4 to secure a wicket. Colin Blythe was the first of four English spinners to take five wickets in a Test at Edgbaston since 1909. If England is not entirely persuaded by the merits of any spinner, and especially in light of Ben Stokes’ injury concerns, bolstering the seam attack may be the best option.
