England coach Bayliss may field two spinners in second Test
London, July 19 (IANS) England head coach Trevor Bayliss has indicated that the hosts could field two spinners after Yorkshire’s Adil Rashid was called into the squad for the second Test against Pakistan starting on Friday.
Rashid was given the call alongside fit-again Ben Stokes and James Anderson as England look to bounce back from the 75-run first Test defeat at Lord’s.
Rashid’s three Test appearances so far have come in the spin-friendly conditions of the UAE against the same opponents last year, with England so far reluctant to play two spinners at home, where conditions traditionally suit seam bowling.
But while Moeen Ali was ineffective at Lord’s, Bayliss said it is not impossible for both to play at Old Trafford this week.
“I’ve always thought of playing two spinners at home, at some stage. Pakistan have three left-arm pace bowlers, who created rough outside the off-stump for Moeen,” Bayliss was quoted as saying by Sky Sports on Monday.
“So looking ahead, if we did happen to have two spinners, they could both play an important part for us.”
England’s more pressing need is working out how to bat better against Pakistan’s leg-spinner Yasir Shah, who rose to the top of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test bowling rankings after his 10-wicket haul at Lord’s.
“Our batters have to play their spin a lot better. Especially in the first innings, I felt we gifted him a few wickets with shots I’m sure the boys would like to replay,” the head coach added.
