Simon Harmer has told England selectors that they should recall Jack Leach ahead of their tour of South Africa this winter.
Harmer -- who took 10 wickets for the Proteas against Australia last week -- says that Leach would provide England with the "control" that they have lacked without a frontline spinner.
Ever since the sensational retirement of ex-captain Ben Stokes, England have opted to go without a specialist slow bowler, instead choosing to rely on the part-time off-spin of all-rounder Dan Lawrence in support of a four-strong pace attack.
It seems likely that England will maintain with squad makeup as they head to South Africa for three Tests this winter, the first of which begins on 17th December.
Essex spinner Harmer starred for the Proteas in their recent series victory over Australia, surely forcing England selectors to reconsider their spin options as they head to venues clearly conducive to slow bowling.
At 37, Harmer became the 10th oldest ever player to take a 10fer in Test match cricket when he fired the Proteas to a famous victory in the third and final match of the series in Cape Town.
He told the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast that England should play Leach as their frontline spinner this winter.
The Somerset man has not represented England more more than two years and did not receive a central contract when the most recent batch was announced in October.
"If you are going to play a spinner at those venues, you need, in the first innings, somebody who can hold an end so that your seamers can rotate, attack and bowl four overs of aggressive, fast bowling," said Harmer.
"If you don't have that control, it makes it very difficult to find 90 overs in a day and how that stacks up with your seamers. So, for me, Leach is still the guy for England.
"I know Marcus North was on a podcast saying that they're moving away from him, but I just don't understand [that].
"I'm sure the chats are, 'well, he doesn't bowl teams out on day five', but the amount of control that he gives you, I just think at the venues that South Africa will be hosting England, if you are going to take a spinner, he is probably your guy."
Shoaib Bashir, on the other hand, did receive a central contract and has been named checked several times as England's preferred spin option; despite only playing twice over the summer.
The 23-year-old was selected as part of England's squad for the 2025/26 Ashes series, but was picked to play in any of the five Tests.
