ADIL Rashid is backing England to recover from their Lord's nightmare against Australia at Edgbaston this week – and is hoping he can play a part alongside Moeen Ali.

The Yorkshire leg-spinner is ready to play as a second spinner in the third Ashes Test with the series tied at 1-1, having recovered from the finger injury which ruled him out of the Lord's defeat.

Rashid took three wickets in the LV= County Championship win over Worcestershire at Scarborough last week, Yorkshire's fifth successive four-day victory.

"There is talk of playing two spinners – but that is just people talking," said the 27-year-old all-rounder.

"We won't know until we get there and we can see who is fit and whether the pitch is green or not. It's a bit early to talk about two spinners but there's always a chance.

"If I'm given a go, then I'll be giving it my all. If I'm not, then that's not a problem."

Rashid would have played at Lord's had he not suffered an abrasion to a finger on his right hand because Ali suffered a side strain and was not 100 per cent fit.

Rashid explained: "It was just an injury on the spinning finger. It was sore with a bit of bruising around a cut. That was stopping me from bowling at that time but it's healed up nicely. I'll have some protection on it.

"There was a chance I would have played and I'm disappointed that I had to pull out. But life goes on."

On England's chances this week, he said: "I think we've got an exceptional side – but you win some and you lose some.

"At Cardiff we won but the next one we lost. If we stick to what we do, then we can come back strong. We've got everything there in the squad and I think we'll come back well."

The Worcestershire win, by seven wickets, lifted Yorkshire a massive 34 points clear of second-placed Warwickshire at the top of Division One with six to play and a game in hand over all their rivals.

It is difficult to see a scenario which would prevent them from securing back-to-back titles come the end of September at the latest.

It also allowed Rashid to speak with Worcester overseas off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, the prolific Pakistani who has only just returned to the game after a long lay-off due to being found to have an illegal action.

Rashid said: "I think we've played exceptionally well over the last couple of games. The bowlers have done well the last five games and it was the same at Scarborough.

"It was good to get some tips from Saeed and have a chat about general cricket with him. He's been a world-class performer for a number of years, so to talk to him and get some advice is good for me."

Rashid has taken a total of 18 wickets from four Championship matches so far this season.