Moeen Ali is considering an approach from England to come out of Test retirement to play in the Ashes as a replacement for the injured Jack Leach.
According to BBC Sport, Moeen, 35, was called by captain Ben Stokes after fellow spinner Leach was ruled out.
Moeen played 64 Tests before retiring prior to the last Ashes series in Australia in 2021. If he decides to accept England’s call, he would join the squad for the first Test at Edgbaston on 16 June.
Left-armer Leach, 31, was ruled out of the five-Test series on Sunday after a scan revealed a stress fracture in his back.
It is a significant blow to England. Leach is the only bowler to have played in all 13 Tests since captain Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum took charge last summer.
He looked set to play a significant role in the attack with doubts lingering over all-rounder Stokes’ fitness to bowl.
Without him, England were left with a dearth of options. Leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed played one Test in the winter, but is just 18 years old, while Surrey’s Will Jacks has two caps, but batting is a stronger suit than his off-spin. Leg-spinner Matt Parkinson cannot get in Lancashire’s team and Liam Dawson has been out of Test cricket for six years.
Moeen, though, would be an ideal replacement – there is argument to suggest he is still the premier spinner in England, even if he has not played a red-ball game since his last Test in September 2021.
He has taken 195 Test wickets – only two England spinners have taken more – and his five hundreds would bring runs to the lower-order.
The Warwickshire man has previously rowed back from making a Test return. Last summer he said he was “unretired”, only to opt against a place on the tour of Pakistan in December.