Selection battle cheers Moores

Coach Peter Moores watches Graeme Swann spin his magic in Sri Lanka © Getty Images

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Coach Peter Moores is relishing the competition for places within his one-day squad as England weigh up their options before naming a squad to return to Sri Lanka for the Test series.

The 15 names for the three-Test series next month are still being finalised with several candidates for that squad in prime position to impress during the remainder of the current one-day series.

England could name at least two spinners and with Monty Panesar filling one of those positions, Nottinghamshire off-spinner Graeme Swann may claim the other place with a few more consistent displays in the one-day series.

There may also be a vacancy among the batsmen England are considering with Owais Shah’s match-winning innings of 82 on Thursday, which sealed England’s first one-day win over Sri Lanka on home soil for 25 years, boosting his chances of selection.

The squad is not expected to be revealed until after Moores and the one-day squad return home and he has had a chance to consult with Chairman of selectors David Graveney and fellow selector Geoff Miller and talked to captain Michael Vaughan.

But as England prepare for the third match in the series at the Rangiri International Stadium on Sunday, Moores confirmed that he is monitoring the performances on this trip as a guide for potential candidates for the Test squad.

“The Test squad is a work in progress,” Moores said. “When Grav was out here it was a good place to sit down and talk.

“We have a pretty clear idea already of the shape of that team. When Grav went back he can now sit down with Geoff Miller and Michael knowing that when I get back we’ll sit down knowing exactly where everybody is fitness-wise and what sort of shape the team should have.

“Owais has shown his game is suited to all conditions, he’s a skilful player.

“He has also shown that he plays at his best when he plays simple shots early on.

“That’s what he’s starting to learn, that when he keeps hitting good areas, there’s a simple run on he’ll take it and he leaves his more expansive shots to be played at the end.

“Talented players know when to take simple options and he’s certainly doing himself no harm. We’ll see, but his emergence as a player has been interesting to watch over the last three months.”

Graeme Swann could be returning to Sri Lanka

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The same could be said of Swann and Moores admitted: “He’s done really well. We couldn’t have asked much more of him so far. He has spun the ball and looked confident, done well with the bat - he’s become a key member with his all-round contributions.

“It was a big thing to leave out Panesar and it’s nothing against Monty because Monty is developing quickly as a one-day bowler.

“It’s all about balance. Monty is practising and learning very quickly the art of variation and using the skills he has got as we see in Test matches and applying them in one-day cricket. You play horses for courses.

“You want it to be competitive, you want to it to be tough to leave people out, you should be having horrible conversations with captain and coaches because that means something is going right.

“Swann has come and taken the opportunity. He’s got two games with three more, he’s got to be able to show that he can produce, the challenges come when they get to see him a little bit.

“He’s good, lots of energy, he’s funny, he’s a lad. You need all sorts of different people because it makes touring parties fun. In our set up the lads enjoy him.”

Following their stunning display to beat Sri Lanka by 65 runs on Thursday and bounce back strongly from their 119-run defeat in the series opener, England may name an unchanged line-up.