ENGLAND has overlooked spinner Shoaib Bashir for the crucial third Ashes Test against Australia in Adelaide.
The tourists, who need to win to keep alive hopes of regaining the urn, have made one change from the team beaten in the second Test in Brisbane.
As expected, Josh Tongue replaces fellow pace bowler Gus Atkinson.
It is the omission of 22-year-old Bashir that is most striking for a Test where spin is likely to play an important role.
England has instead retained all-rounder Will Jacks after he played his first Test in three years in Brisbane.
It is a huge decision by England’s captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum for a Test where jobs and reputations could be on the line.
It calls into question the entire experiment involving Bashir, whom England has asked to learn on the job in Test cricket over the past two years.
Bashir’s absence from the first two Tests in Australia has been explained by the conditions.
Australia’s off-spinner, Nathan Lyon, bowled only two overs in the first Test and then was left out of the second.
But Lyon will return on Wednesday (23:30 GMT Tuesday) on a ground where no other bowler has taken more than his 63 Test wickets, with legendary Australia leg-spinner Shane Warne just behind on 56.
The importance of spin will likely be accentuated by the extreme temperatures forecast in Adelaide – as high as 39C for Thursday’s second day.
England has previously backed Bashir as their frontline spinner, despite him not being the first-choice slow bowler for his county Somerset. Bashir’s deal at Taunton expired at the end of the season and he is yet to sign a new one.
Stokes and McCullum felt Bashir had the attributes to succeed in Australia, mainly a high release point and the ability to extract bounce from the surface.
His performances in an England shirt since making his debut in India at the beginning of 2024 have been a qualified success.
Bashir’s 68 wickets in 19 Tests have come at an average of 39, and in May he became the youngest England bowler to reach 50 wickets.
But Bashir has not played for England since breaking his finger in the third Test against India in July. His best moment in an England shirt was also his most recent act – taking the wicket to win that thrilling Test at Lord’s.
Before the Brisbane Test, when off-spinning all-rounder Jacks was selected ahead of Bashir, Stokes still backed Bashir as the tourists’ frontline spinner.
England’s XI for third Ashes Test v Australia: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith, Will Jacks, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue.
