The trio have all been named in a 14-man squad to play for the Professional County Club Select XI in a three-day match which starts on Thursday. The fixture was initially due to begin on Wednesday and last three days but was moved back, by mutual agreement, to enable the ECB to field the strongest possible invitational side ahead of next week’s first Test.
Bashir has been in limbo for the past month, playing only twice for Derbyshire in the One-Day Cup yet backed by Marcus North, England’s selector, as the “number one spinner” available. He is unlikely to feature against Pakistan, with England expected to pick four seamers and rely on Dan Lawrence’s offspin as they rebalance their side following Ben Stokes’ retirement.
Sussex’s Tom Haines will captain the side, which also features recent England Under-19s players Luc Benkenstein, Caleb Falconer and Manny Lumsden. The squad does not contain any players required for their counties or franchises in the knockout stages of the One-Day Cup or the Hundred.
PCC Select XI squad: Tom Haines (capt), Shoaib Bashir, Luc Benkenstein, Caleb Falconer, Matt Fisher, Emilio Gay, Nathan Gilchrist, Josh Hull, Manny Lumsden, James Rew, James Sales, Charlie Tear, Noah Thain, Saif Zaib.
