Somerset facing selection dilemma as England spinners assemble

The unbeaten Taunton club have named a 14-strong squad for the visit of Kent starting on Friday

Somerset could be set to answer the call of England head coach, Brendon McCullum by playing both their leading spinners in the same Championship side.

McCullum, coach of England's Test team, expressed the hope that sides such as Somerset would find a way to field two spinners at a time to help develop players who could challenge in Asian conditions.

Indeed, he said it would be "slightly mad" were Shoaib Bashir or Tom Hartley left out of their county sides having made a good impression with England in India.

While no final decision has been made on their playing XI, Somerset have named both Jack Leach and Shoaib in the squad for their County Championship match against Kent starting at Taunton on Friday (May 17).

Leach hasn't played a first-team game since returning from the England tour of India after sustaining an injury in the first Test of the series in Hyderabad. He subsequently underwent surgery. He also missed the Ashes last summer due to a stress fracture of the back.

Leach played in the victory in Hyderabad but missed the remainder of the series with a knee injury that required surgery (Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Bashir has played three times for Somerset since returning from the India Test tour (Harry Trump/Getty Images)

If Somerset do play just the one frontline spinner, it will be intriguing to see who they choose. Shoaib may well have moved ahead of Leach in the England reckoning but, at Somerset, where Leach is something of a legend, that may not be the case.

Somerset are leaving a final decision over selection to the morning. In the past, the club has sometimes prepared two surfaces, one to help spinners and one to help seamers, and made a late choice over which to use. They are without Tom Abell, due to a hamstring injury, and Tom Kohler-Cadmore who is at the IPL. 

"Having Leachy back in the squad is a big boost for the group, but also for him," Somerset head coach, Jason Kerr said.

"It's been a tough road back for him and he's worked incredibly hard. He's an infectious character and he's got vast experience. He's incredibly well respected and we saw today in practice that he's always got time for people. We're all looking forward to seeing him back in a Somerset shirt and enjoying his cricket, and we'll make a decision on whether that is this weekend or tomorrow."

Somerset squad: Lewis Gregory, Sean Dickson, Matt Renshaw, Tom Lammonby, Andy Umeed, Tom Banton, James Rew, Craig Overton, Josh Davey, Migael Pretorius, Kasey Aldridge, Jake Ball, Jack Leach and Shoaib Bashir.

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