England will press Moeen Ali into service for today’s second Ashes Test at Lord’s, with the captain Alastair Cook hoping the all-rounder can get through the match with a minor side strain after his spin-bowling understudy Adil Rashid declared himself unfit to play.

That news has left the England management frustrated and they are left hoping that Moeen, who batted and bowled in their final practice session, can get through the Test match unscathed following a late fitness test in the morning.

“Moeen is pretty good,” said Cook. “He felt his side a little bit in the last game and with his previous history our medical team are wrapping people up in cotton wool.”

Moeen’s niggle is understood to be in a different area to the injury picked at the World Cup but there are fears he could aggravate the problem further.

Five wickets

After seeing the Worcestershire all-rounder play a key part in the first Test, scoring 77 with the bat in the first innings and five wickets in the match, Cook knows his importance to the make-up of the attack.

“You have to be a bit careful with back-to-back Tests but unless he gets a reaction overnight we expect him to be in our team,” said Cook.

“He had a really good game at Cardiff, particularly the way he batted in our first innings and he took crucial wickets at crucial times. He’s an important part of that success and hopefully he can do the same here.”

Asked about sitting 1-0 up after Australia were tipped as favourites prior to the series, Cook replied: “It’s always nice to be the underdog. Australia probably still are favourites.” Guardian Service