Spinners Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali made a comeback to Test cricket as they were included in England's 13-man squad for the first Test against India, starting in Edgbaston, on August 1.
Rashid returns to the squad for the the first time since he played in the fifth Test against India at Chennai in December 2016. The leg-spinner has been in fine form in one-day cricket this summer taking 20 wickets at an average of 23.95 in England’s series victories over Australia and India.
If selected, Rashid, who signed a white-ball only deal with Yorkshire in February, will play his first Test in England having earned his previous 10 away from home.
Essex seamer Jamie Porter earns his first call-up to the Test squad after impressing for Essex and the England Lions over past few seasons. The 25-year-old was named the Specsavers County Championship Player of the Year in 2017 and was instrumental in Essex lifting their first County Championship title since 1992.
Worcestershire’s Moeen Ali returns to the squad for the first time since the tour of New Zealand.
The selection panel also confirmed that Warwickshire’s Chris Woakes requires more time to regain his form after recovering from his recent thigh and knee injury.
Somerset team-mates, Dom Bess and Jack Leach, also miss out, but will join the team throughout preparations for England’s 1,000th men’s Test match.
Commenting on Rashid's selection, selector Ed Smith, said: "Adil Rashid also returns to the England Test squad. Before the selection meeting, Adil had confirmed his availability to play Test cricket for England for whole of this summer and the upcoming winter tours to Sri Lanka and West Indies. Following his earlier decision in February 2018, Adil has a white-ball only contract to play for Yorkshire this summer. That arrangement is unchanged by his selection for England. However, Adil fully understands that if he wishes to be eligible for Test cricket in the 2019 season, he must have a county contract to play four-day cricket. Moving forward, England Test players must be committed to the county championship.
“Clearly, the one-off circumstances around Adil’s return to the Test squad are unusual. However, the selection panel was unanimous in believing that Adil should be selected in England’s squad.
England Test squad: Joe Root (captain), Moeen Ali, Jimmy Anderson, Jonny Bairstow (w/k), Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Alastair Cook, Sam Curran, Keaton Jennings, Dawid Malan, Jamie Porter, Adil Rashid, Ben Stokes.
