Batty comes back from the wilderness

The Surrey offspinner, Gareth Batty, has been given the chance for a shock return to Test cricket, more than a decade after his most recent appearance in 2005, after being named in a 17-man squad for next month’s tour of Bangladesh.

Batty, who will be 39 by the time the first Test gets underway in Chittagong on October 20, will travel as back-up to England’s front-line spin pairing of Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid, but with five Tests against India following directly on from the Bangladesh leg, he has been given a golden opportunity to add to the 11 wickets he claimed in his previous seven Test appearances.

Batty will compete for a spin-bowling berth with his Surrey team-mate, Zafar Ansari, who might have made his Test debut in the UAE last winter, but for a horrific dislocated thumb that he suffered while fielding at Old Trafford on the very day of his call-up last year. Despite another injury-dogged season, in which he has claimed 22 wickets at 31.40, England’s selectors admire his all-round potential, and he would retain valuable balance in England’s batting ranks if he were offered his opportunity.

“Selecting four spinners for the Test matches will give the coaches and captain plenty of options,” said James Whitaker, England’s national selector. “Alongside Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid, we are excited about the qualities that Zafar Ansari and Gareth Batty bring to the squad. Zafar has great potential both with bat and ball and Gareth’s experience as one of the country’s best slow bowlers and his ability to be effective in subcontinent conditions will be beneficial this winter.”

At the top of the order, Lancashire’s Haseeb Hameed has, as widely anticipated, been named as Alastair Cook’s latest opening partner – a decision that was aided by Alex Hales’ unavailability due to the security situation in Bangladesh.

Aged just 19 and with fewer than 20 first-class games behind him, Haseeb’s selection would, in some ways, constitute a gamble. But he has impressed with his tight technique and unflustered temperament – his director of cricket at Lancashire, Ashley Giles, compares his hatred of losing his wicket as similar to that of Jonathan Trott’s – and England’s head coach, Trevor Bayliss, is understood to have been impressed by the footage he has seen of him in action.

“Haseeb Hameed, for someone so …

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