We are at the dregs. England have three more World Cup matches in India to pull through, this hallucinogenic – and not in a good way – title defence at the point where you wonder if you should just give the kids a go. The problem is there aren’t that many, with only Gus Atkinson, Sam Curran and Harry Brook under the age of 26 in the squad. The old-timers will have to lead the final push for pride and, um, qualification to the Champions Trophy.
Instead, a number of the next generation are getting ready for a three-week England Lions training camp in the United Arab Emirates this month. The focus is on the red ball and it comes before an India tour in the new year that will be Bazball’s toughest gig yet: five Tests against a side who have not lost a home series since 2012.
The make-up of the Lions squad suggests an attempt to tackle a never-ending problem – the search for a world-beating slow bowler. Nine of the 21 players can be classified as specialist spinners, spin-bowling all-rounders or batters who tweak it respectably. The image emerges of a Love Island set-up, a spinner being dumped every couple of days before the winner couples up with Jack Leach for the ultimate prize: a chance to try to beat Ashwin and Jadeja at their own game.
The reality is different. Mo Bobat, responsible for identifying future talent as England men’s performance director, says the India tour is not the endgame here, that the England and Wales Cricket Board is making “development investments” – though call-ups to the senior side are not out of the question. “There are some that are probably already close to selection,” he says.
Rehan Ahmed, already in possession of a Test five-for and now on a two-year England deal, is the headliner in the spinners’ group and presumably one of those in line for India. Most of the others have hinted at promise but not come close to domination in the shires, where spin is an afterthought. The left-armer Callum Parkinson, 27 and a new signing for Durham, is the most experienced with 145 first-class wickets. Lancashire’s Tom Hartley, 24, is tall, quick and has potential as an Axar Patel impersonator.
“You could probably argue that the way he bowls in white-ball cricket is quite a good way to bowl spin in the subcontinent with the red ball,” says Bobat. The Sussex off-spinner Jack Carson, 22, is “desperate to learn”, while James Coles, Ollie Price and Dan Mousley, all 22 or under, are “strong options as all-rounders”.
Somerset’s Shoaib Bashir, 20, made his first-class debut against Essex less than four months ago but his offies, released from a considerable height, have impressed. “He came on against one of England’s great all-time run-scorers in Sir Alastair Cook and in his first over – there’s no doubt he would have been nervous, anxious – he put him under immense pressure and almost created an opportunity,” says Somerset’s director of cricket, Andy Hurry. “He held his own.”
The most intriguing name on the list is 21-year-old Josh de Caires. Six months ago, the main talking point around De Caires was his lineage; son of Michael Atherton, he was making his way as a top-order batter at Middlesex. But Ian Salisbury, the former England leg-spinner who signed on at Lord’s as a consultant coach at the start of this year, immediately liked what he saw of De Caires’s off-breaks in training.
“I reckon you can tell a spinner – if you know – just from how it comes off their fingers,” says Salisbury. “It comes off his fingers beautifully.” It’s there in the angle of the wrist, he says, and then in how “the seam goes down really well for it to be able to drift away and spin back”.
Seven wickets in an innings against Hampshire was trumped by first-innings figures of eight for 106 against Essex as De Caires finished last season with 27 Championship wickets at 25.59. Now, the Lions.
This is the romantic side of spin bowling in England. Run through a team in an afternoon and, suddenly, you’re the guy people want a piece of, worth a look for a winter tour because you are capable of giving it a half-decent rip. The reality can be brutal, though.
When England’s Test side last visited India, in early 2021, four young spinners were included in the squad alongside Leach and Moeen Ali: Dom Bess as a starter and Mason Crane, Matt Parkinson and Amar Virdi as reserves. Bess has not played for England since that tour. Parkinson, still a delight to watch, has been ignored in all formats for more than a year. Crane has primarily been limited to white-ball duties at Hampshire while Virdi did not play a Championship game for Surrey in their back-to-back title wins in 2022 and 2023.
They are all different, gifted bowlers who face multiple fights, some more than others. Conditions that go against them, the vagaries of form or a desire from the decision-makers for more with the bat.
So your heart goes out to the next batch and you hope they will receive a bit of TLC, like Salisbury seems to have provided to De Caires, who is raw and still figuring this whole thing out. The coach has been in touch with his student to make sure he is been engaging in “finger maintenance” to avoid his spinning digit cutting open before the camp. Pre-game routines have been worked on to make sure the ball then comes out just right: “A pianist won’t just turn up at the Albert Hall and play the piano, will he?” says Salisbury. The hunt begins for England’s next artists.
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