Brisbane, Dec 3 England captain Ben Stokes has reiterated Shoaib Bashir’s position as the team’s leading spinner, despite Will Jacks being selected instead for the second Ashes Test in Brisbane.
England have named their XI for the second Test of the Ashes series on Tuesday and called up Will Jacks for the pink-ball game to replace injured Mark Wood.
On the eve of the day-night match in Brisbane, Stokes stressed that the call was shaped by conditions and team balance rather than any loss of faith in Bashir.
“We tried to look at how we thought spin was going to be used, and there was a bit of a tactical element to it. Obviously Jacksy’s ability with the bat, to have that down the order for us is useful as well. But if it ever comes down to picking our best, No 1 spinner, selection will go the other way,” Stokes told reporters here on Wednesday.
"If it comes down to picking our best spinner, he’s the man. We thought this was the best XI for the conditions and the circumstances of the game, but he knows that if it comes down to picking our best spinner, he’s the man,” he added.
With England opting for Jacks’ all-round skills, Bashir will turn out for the Lions in their unofficial Test against Australia A, also in Brisbane, beginning Friday.
Jacks replacing Wood is the only change to the side that lost the first Test in Perth inside two days. Wood has been ruled out due to lingering discomfort in his left knee, for which he underwent surgery earlier in the year.
Wood, however, remains with the squad and is targeting a return later in the series, with the third Test in Adelaide still two weeks away.
“It’s obviously a little bit of a setback, but we’re doing everything we can and the medical group are doing everything they can to try and get him to potentially be available for selection in the last three. We’ve got a lot more time to go on this tour and we’ll just see how things play out with that," Stokes said.
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