Thursday 2 July 2015 15:13, UK
Steve Harmison believes England should opt for Moeen Ali as their frontline spinner instead of Adil Rashid for the first Investec Ashes Test against Australia in Cardiff.
The selection of Rashid came as a mild surprise, with him having never played a Test match for England. However the 27-year-old has taken 15 wickets in three matches in the County Championship for Yorkshire and impressed in the recent ODI series with New Zealand.
But Harmison, who claimed 226 wickets from 63 Tests, said England would risk having too many attacking bowlers in their line-up should they pick Rashid, adding Ali would provide better support for the seamers.
Speaking to Sky Sports News HQ, Harmison said: "Rashid has certainly done enough to get in the squad - whether he starts will be an interesting one. Whether they leave a batsman out and play two spinners with four seamers or if they leave a batsman out and having Rashid instead of Moeen Ali, I'm not sure that works.
"If I'm being brutally honest, Mark Wood, Rashid and Ben Stokes in the same side are very much wicket-taking and attacking bowlers, but if Australia get hold of them, then it puts a lot of pressure on Stuart Broad and James Anderson.
"If Moeen Ali is bowling in a way that is containment, and I go back to the 2005 series where Ashley Giles was fantastic for the four fast bowlers who were attacking bowlers to hold an end up, then that’s the way I would go with Moeen Ali.
"If that's the case then I would still want Wood and Stokes in my team, so unfortunately if it was me, then Adil Rashid just misses out."
Ali has 33 wickets from 11 Test matches at an average of 32.60, but has claimed just three wickets at an average of 90.66 in the County Championship this season.
The first Investec Ashes Test is live from Cardiff on our dedicated Sky Sports Ashes channel from Wednesday July 8.
