Next month, England is considering giving Rehan Ahmed his maiden home Test cap.
According to Daily Mail Sport, Ahmed of Leicestershire has been the front-runner for the spinner’s spot in the three-match series against New Zealand. Ahmed’s five matches to date have all taken place abroad.
In an attempt to extend their batting, England chose to utilise part-time Will Jacks during the Ashes last winter, completely ignoring proven first-choice spinner Shoaib Bashir.
Jacks struggled to maintain control for Ben Stokes’ team, giving up 4.9 runs per over and taking just six Australian wickets at an average of 53.66 in four appearances.
However, this hasn’t stopped the England leadership from sticking to their strategy of sending down their main spin overs with an all-rounder, which will be strengthened by Marcus North’s upcoming appointment as national selector.
Ahmed, 21, who became England’s youngest Test cricketer on the same Pakistan tour that Jacks made his debut three and a half years ago, would bring an attacking dimension as a wrist spinner, especially in second innings, even though Surrey’s Jacks is better suited as a white-ball spinner.
This summer, Rehan Ahmed will be England’s first-choice spinner and receive a Test recall.
After taking a wicket during England’s 2024 tour of India, Ahmed celebrates with Ben Stokes.
Will Jacks had a terrible Ashes campaign, taking just six Australian wickets at an average of 53.66.
After making his debut in Karachi in December 2022, Ahmed claimed seven wickets. Since then, he has taken 22 wickets overall, all in the subcontinent.
He was supposed to be promoted to England’s Ashes team for the Christmas season after being included on the England Lions tour of Australia, but a leg injury sent him home.
Later in the winter, Ahmed demonstrated his exceptional temperament when he and Jacks pulled off an incredible late heist during a run chase against New Zealand in the Twenty20 World Cup.
Although Ahmed, who scored five hundreds in the County Championship in 2025, took six wickets in first-class matches against Sussex and Surrey before leaving for the competition last month, both players are currently playing in the Indian Premier League.
Jimmy Anderson included Ahmed in his XI for the opening Test of the summer in his final Ashes piece for Daily Mail Sport.
When England chooses their squad for the Lord’s Test next week, they will also decide who will take Zak Crawley’s spot at the top of the order. Ben McKinney of Durham is reportedly leading the race ahead of Glamorgan’s Asa Tribe and county colleague Emilio Gay. This week, James Rew’s experimental move to the head of Somerset’s order resulted in two failures.
