Rashid firms for XI as England refocus

England could play two spinners and make as many as three changes to the XI that lost to Pakistan at Lord's, with Alastair Cook confirming leg-spinner Adil Rashid has been included in a 12-man squad for the second Test.

Fast bowlers Jake Ball and Steven Finn are the two to have been omitted from what was originally a 14-man squad, with seamer Jimmy Anderson and allrounder Ben Stokes both set to make their returns from injury at Old Trafford on Friday (from 8pm AEST).

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Cook insisted Moeen Ali remains the No.1 spin option ("for this game" at least) meaning if Rashid, who starred for the Adelaide Strikers in BBL|05, is selected in the final XI it will be at the expense of a batsman, with James Vince or Gary Ballance appearing to be the most likely candidates to make way if England decide the pitch is suitably spin-friendly.

After bowling 22 overs in Lancashire's County Championship match against Durham last week, Anderson did enough to show selectors he's recovered from the shoulder injury he sustained in the Test series against Sri Lanka. Playing for Durham in the same match, Stokes also proved his bowling fitness.

But whether Anderson – and to a lesser extent, Stokes, who could have played the first Test as a specialist batsman – should have taken his place in the England XI at Lord's has been a point of contention in the fall-out from the first Test.

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Cook – who is present at selection meetings but doesn't have a vote – and coach Trevor Bayliss were reportedly in favour of taking Anderson's word he was fit to play the first Test but were overruled by the other three members of the panel.

The naming of a 14-man squad for the second Test, almost unprecedented for a home Test, as well as the expectation that England director of cricket Andrew Strauss will overhaul the composition of the national selection panel in September has put its members under further scrutiny.

While Cook labelled the media reaction to the cautious handling of Anderson a "messy affair" that's been "blown out of proportion", he admitted England's all-time leading wicket-taker was fit enough to play at Lord's.

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"It's great to have Jimmy back, he's an outstanding bowler," the England captain told reporters. "It's great to have him fully fit.

"If he'd bowled 30 overs (in the first Test) and hurt his shoulder and was out for a game, we'd all be sitting here disappointed with the decision.

"(But) in hindsight, he could have played that game because he played for Lancashire and got through that.

"We probably erred on the side of caution and now hopefully will have him for three games."

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The situation on the other side of the fence is looking comparatively rosy.

Although captain Misbah-ul-Haq was tight-lipped when asked if his side would keep the same XI from the first Test, Pakistan aren't expected to make any changes from the side that accounted for England at Lord's.

Yasir Shah sent a scare through the tourists' camp when he went down after being struck on the left shoulder while batting at training on Wednesday but scans showed the leg-spinner hasn't suffered any damage.

Despite Pakistan appearing settled, Misbah isn't underestimating the difficulty of the task in front of his side.

The 42-year-old stressed the enthusiastic celebration of their first Test victory, in honour of the Pakistan army with whom the players completed a rigorous boot camp prior to this series, wasn't an attempt to stir their hosts.

"There's no disrespect for the opposition, we know that they are a fine team and we know their strengths," the 42-year-old said.

"There's a bigger challenge for us in the coming games.

"Regarding celebrations, it was nothing to do with the England team. It was only a gesture for those who we worked with.

"We fully respect the opposition and we have to really work hard in all the next three Test matches."

The state of the Old Trafford pitch, which ground staff covered with a futuristic 'hover cover' on Thursday afternoon with a few scattered showers forecast for the Manchester area, is set to not only have a major say on the make-up of the England XI but also on how it plays into the relative strengths of each side.

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On the one hand, Pakistan's batsmen, of which only Misbah and Asad Shafiq passed 50 in the first Test, will face a stronger England bowling attack on a wicket that will almost certainly offer more pace and bounce than Lord's.

On the other, England will have to contend with Yasir at a traditionally spin-friendly venue, after he ran rampant at the Home of Cricket on a track that didn't offer him a great deal of assistance.

It's a factor that Misbah hopes will help his side take a 2-0 series lead.

"It doesn't matter which ground we are playing on," he said. "If a bowler is really good, he produces results on any ground.

"Lord's is somewhere you don't normally associate with spinners but (Yasir) bowled beautifully and took those wickets for us.

"As a bowling unit, we need to really bowl well. All four bowlers need to step up – not only Yasir Shah."