5 Spin Options for England to Consider for Ashes Selection

Like Shane Warne's departure from Australia's Test side in 2007, Graeme Swann's unexpected retirement during the 2013-14 Ashes series has left a significant hole in the England team that still requires filling. 

Since, it's been Moeen Ali who's largely been entrusted with the spin-bowling duties, and last summer the 27-year-old enjoyed a sparkling run against India. 

But there remains a feeling that Moeen will progress toward a role as a batting all-rounder, meaning a specialist spinner is still likely to be required. 

Across the following slides, we examine five such options England's selectors could consider ahead of the 2015 Ashes series. 

Having previously received strong praise from Andrew Strauss, it will be interesting to see if Adam Riley's development is fast-tracked now that Strauss has moved into his new role as director of England cricket. 

A tall, upright finger-spinner who's drawn comparisons with Peter Such, Riley, who's spent time with the England Lions, has enjoyed two productive county seasons with Kent since 2013 and now boasts a first-class record containing more than 100 wickets at a tick above 30. 

Last summer, when England were deciding upon a replacement for Graeme Swann, it seemed as though the 23-year-old was very much in the mix, before selectors settled on Moeen Ali. But with Moeen proving expensive recently in the Caribbean, Riley could be in contention for a surprise call up to the Ashes squad. 

After that debut, many wondered whether Simon Kerrigan would ever get another chance at Test level with England. Worse, some wondered if his first-class career would disintegrate altogether after such a difficult experience. 

Pleasingly, however, the left-armer bounced back with the ball in 2014, claiming almost 50 wickets for Lancashire in Division One and going some way to repairing his reputation as a promising spinner. And in 2015, Kerrigan has started the new season strongly, with 14 first-class wickets at 28 in the early-season conditions. 

Of course, many will see throwing the 26-year-old back into the cauldron of an Ashes contest as too much, but being a left-armer and someone who spins the ball away from the right-handers might give Kerrigan the slightest of chances. 

Adil Rashid gave his hopes of an England call-up a big boost this week, with the leg-spinner claiming four wickets in each innings of Yorkshire's win over Hampshire in Division One.

Having toured to the Caribbean with Alastair Cook's side recently, it's clear the talented leg-spinner is on the selectors' radar and looks to be one of the primary candidates for an Ashes berth. 

Interestingly, his re-emergence to the fringes of the England Test side completes something of a full circle for Rashid. In 2006, he burst onto the national scene and looked certain to be a fixture of England side in the years that followed, but instead saw his confidence and form evaporate between 2010 and 2012. 

It's taken until now to push for selection once more. 

After claiming four impressive first-innings wickets against the West Indies at North Sound last month, James Tredwell was desperately unlucky to miss the subsequent Tests after suffering an arm injury while fielding. 

Unfashionable but reliable, Tredwell would provide England with a sense of steadiness against Australia, giving the likes of James Anderson and Stuart Broad a spin-bowling counterpart who could control spells at the other end. 

Additionally, the 33-year-old has significantly more international experience than some of the other candidates on this list, meaning he's a low-risk option for England's selectors if they choose to alter the lineup that featured in the final two matches in the Caribbean. 

The outsider. The left-field option. The forgotten man.

Monty Panesar is all of those things. 

Of course, the left-armer hasn't been without his problems in the last two years—he was dumped by Sussex for urinating on a nightclub bouncer in 2013 and was suspended by Essex for a "timekeeping" error last season. 

But the fact remains that Panesar has more than 150 Test wickets to his name and has played in six Ashes Tests. 

Could those numbers give Monty a glimmer of hope?