England ponder spin trio

SOUTHAMPTON, England: It would be an unusual sight but England are seriously mulling over the option of playing three spinners in their opening One-day International (ODI) here at the Ageas Bowl on Wednesday (today).

With the winter tours of India and Bangladesh on mind, England were on Tuesday seriously considering the idea of including Hampshire left-arm spinner Liam Dawson in the playing line-up.

With Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid already set to be in the playing eleven, England captain Eoin Morgan might have a spin-oriented attack at his command to deal with Pakistan on an Ageas Bowl wicket that is expected to have some turn in warm and dry conditions.

“Having Liam Dawson brings the option of playing three spinners and that is something we might have to take into consideration as we look ahead to the winter tours of Bangladesh and India,” Morgan said on the eve of the series opener.

“It will be a very tough series against Pakistan, especially as the recent weather means conditions may suit them more than they suit us initially. It is a good test leading into the winter.”

He also confirmed that all-rounder Ben Stokes will play but solely as a batsman in the first two ODIs as he continues to recover from a calf injury that ruled him out of the last two Tests against Pakistan

“It’s a day by day thing at the moment,” Morgan said. “Ben’s obviously trying to get fit back as an all-rounder but we need to build up his workload so that he can be fit to bowl, not even 10, but maybe five or six overs in a game to start with.

“The first couple of games though we’re going to look at him as a batsman. He’s hungry as ever, he always like to get involved in the game and hates it when he isn’t involved.”