Shane Warne backs Matt Parkinson to make it to England's Ashes squad

The most successful leg spinner to have ever played the game of cricket, Shane Warne has thrown his weight behind England prodigy Matt Parkinson and said that the leg spinner should be included in the Test squad for the Ashes series. 

Speaking on the eve of The Hundred, where he will be in the lead role along with Eoin Morgan for the London Spirits, Warner said that he loves to watch Parkinson bowl and that he can become a “huge” part of the England Test team if “pencilled” into the playing XI for the first Test at Gabba.

Counting on the factors that can help him succeed in Australia, Warner said that Parkinson has all the armoury up his sleeve such as perfect pace, the amount of spin and bounce he extracts off the pitch. He suggested that the England team management should also consider bringing him to the squad for the Test series against India, especially at the Old Trafford and the Oval.

"He is pretty exciting, isn't he? I love watching him. I've been watching him from afar and been very impressed so far. I really like the look of the way he bowls. He is a great addition to white-ball cricket, but also I see him playing a huge part in Test cricket, especially in Australia. I wouldn't be surprised in that first Test match at the Gabba if he is “pencilled” into the playing XI."

"I think of the Australian conditions, the pace he bowls, the amount of bounce and spin he gets, I think he is perfectly suited to Australian conditions," Warne said. "So I think he has a big role to play and he might even play a Test match through the summer.

"Jack Leach will be the spinner, probably to start with for England, but Matty Parkinson might get a gig at The Oval or Manchester, somewhere like that. I wouldn't be surprised if they have a look at him during the India series thinking about the Ashes down the track."

Parkinson has attracted criticism for not bowling with pace, but Warner said that it’s good that the leg spinner is sticking to his own methods and not responding on the basis of people’s comments. He said that spinners should be judged on the basis of their ability to turn the ball and not the pace at which they operate as medium pacers are there for that role in the side.

“The good thing is a lot of people would have told him to bowl fast, but he has stuck to being true to himself and what he is good at," Warne said. "It is like anything. If you are doing well, no one will question anything about your pace. If it starts to go wrong, that's when people start to question it, but he has stayed true to himself and that is what I really like. I have been pretty impressed watching him and I am looking forward to seeing his career develop.”

"Mate, if I wanted a spinner to bowl fast, they would be called medium-pacers. Spin bowlers are spin bowlers because they spin the ball and he does that. If you can swing, seam or spin the ball, you will be successful, no matter what form. He definitely does that and I think he bowls a beautiful pace.”

Parkinson travelled with England Test squads for the tour of Sri Lanka and India earlier this year without making it through to the playing XI. He would not have made it into the ODI squad against Pakistan as well, where he had achieved to turn the ball the maximum by any spinner in England since the ball tracking data is made available if there would not have been a covid-19 crisis in England camp.

Parkison had produced a jaffa of leg spinner in the initial phase of the County Championship 2021 that had ignited the debate about his credentials as England’s spinner for the longest format.

England have announced their Test team for the first two Tests of the series against India starting August 04 at Trent Bridge, Nottingham.