BAZ: SO CRAZY IF SPIN STARS GET SHUNNED

BRENDON MCCULLUM admitted it would be "slightly mad" if the progress Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir have made on England's tour of India was stymied by a lack of chances at county level.

- DAVID CHARLESWORTH

The spinning duo were uncapped at the start of the trip and held modest first-class records.

But Hartley is the series' leading wicket-taker with 20 dismissals in four Tests and Bashir got a maiden professional five-for in Ranchi.

Lancashire signing Australia star Nathan Lyon this summer places a question mark over how much game time Hartley, 24, will get, while Bashir is second choice at Somerset to Jack Leach.

McCullum admitted Lancashire and Somerset have their own interests to consider, but England's head coach hopes Hartley and Bashir (below), 20, will not fade away.

"We've got to keep trying to get cricket into them," McCullum said.