England Name Three Spinners in Test Squad vs Pakistan; Ben Stokes Rested for ODI Series in UAE

England named a 16-man Test squad and a 15-man ODI and T20I squad for the series against Pakistan in the UAE in October. While Alex Hales made the Test squad, England included three spinners in Adil Rashid, Moeen Ali and Surrey's Zafar Ansari. (Latest Cricket News)

Hales comes in place of Adam Lyth, who had a horror Ashes series where he managed 115 runs in five Tests at an average of 12.77. However, Hales himself was in poor form, having managed just 53 runs in five ODIs against Australia recently. However, he has been picked on the basis of his County form for Nottinghamshire, where he has scored 1021 runs in 12 games at an average of 53.73.

Following Andrew Strauss' retirement in 2012, Hales will be the seventh opening partner for Alastair Cook and England will be hoping for stability at the top.

The inclusion of Surrey's Ansari is the only surprise in the Test squad. The left-arm spinner, who made his debut against Ireland in May, has been in decent form in the County circuit, picking up 44 wickets in 14 games.

However, the inclusion of three spinners in the Test team suggest England are looking to bolster their spin department in conditions that will favour the likes of Pakistan's Zulfiqar Babar and Yasir Shah.

The ODI squad sees the return of Joe Root, who was rested in the Australia series. However, Ben Stokes has been rested for the limited-overs leg of the tournament following his heavy workload.

Stokes played in every international match of the England summer and the England management have decided to manage his burden in what will be a long winter for the team. Following the end of this series, England will travel to South Africa in December.

The T20I squad sees the return of Chris Jordan and the inclusion of Lancashire left-armer Stephen Parry but the most notable name is Hampshire's James Vince. The right-arm opening batsman, who was the leading run-getter in the England T20 domestic circuit with 710 runs at an average of 59 and a strike-rate of 134.16, could feature in the T20Is against Pakistan.

Commenting on the squad, National Selector James Whitaker said that he was pleased with the way Cook, Trevor Bayliss, Eoin Morgan and Paul Farbrace handled the team in the summer. He also commented on the composition of the team.

"The challenge we face against Pakistan will be very different and the composition of our squads reflects the conditions we expect to encounter in the UAE. Ansari's potential excites us and he will provide strong competition for Adil, Moeen Ali in the Test squad after enjoying an excellent domestic season with both bat and ball for Surrey.

"Hales has scored heavily for Nottinghamshire in First Class cricket this season, has shown he can play match-winning innings for England in white ball cricket and fully deserves an opportunity to compete for a place at the top of the order in our Test side," said Whitaker.

England will play three Tests, four ODIs and three T20Is against Pakistan. In their last tour to the UAE in 2012, England were thrashed 3-0 by Pakistan but they bounced back to win the ODI series 4-0 and the T20I series 2-1.

England will arrive on September 30 and will play two warm-up games before the start of the first Test on October 13.

England Test Squad

Alastair Cook (C), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Zafar Ansari, Jonny Bairstow, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler (wk), Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, James Taylor, Mark Wood

England ODI Squad

Eoin Morgan (C), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, James Taylor, Reece Topley, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

England T20I Squad

Eoin Morgan (C), Moeen Ali, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Stephen Parry, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Reece Topley, James Vince, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

Fixtures:

October 13-17: 1st Test, Abu Dhabi. October 22-26: 2nd Test, Dubai. November 1-5: 3rd Test, Sharjah. November 11: 1st ODI (D/N), Abu Dhabi, November 13: 2nd ODI (D/N), Abu Dhabi. November 17: 3rd ODI (D/N), Sharjah. November 20: 4th ODI (D/N), Dubai. November 26, 1st T20I, Dubai. November 27, 2nd T20I, Dubai. November 30, 3rd T20I, Sharjah