Shoaib Bashir will make his England comeback at Lord’s on Thursday, 11 months and one unhappy Ashes tour since his last Test appearance.The off-spinner has seen off competition from all-rounder Rehan Ahmed and will reclaim his spot in the XI against New Zealand.That leaves only one position up for grabs in the first Rothesay Test of the summer. Hampshire’s Sonny Baker is pushing for a debut but Gus Atkinson expected to hold off the challenge on a ground he has excelled at in the last two summers.It marks Bashir’s return to the England team for the first time since he took the match-winning wicket against India with a broken finger last July, with the 22-year-old finding himself surplus to requirements throughout the two-month drubbing in Australia.Weighing the relative merits of his two spin options, head coach Brendon McCullum said: “I think they are both young and exciting and they’ve had some great days already in an England shirt.“Bash has the ability to play more of a holding role in the in the first couple of days here at Lord’s. As the game deepens, and if spin starts to become more prevalent, then he can go more into an attacking role. There’s a little bit of tactical nuance there.”While Bashir was always considered the front-runner given the selectors’ previous investment, Baker has forced his way into their thinking due to a mixed weather forecast.Bashir (right) celebrates the match-winning wicket on his last Test appearance (Bradley Collyer/PA) (PA Archive)England were expecting clear skies for their afternoon practice session but were soon forced indoors by thunder and lightning.McCullum suggested conditions would need to be just right for Baker to play ahead of Atkinson, who has 19 wickets at 10.94 as well as a century in his two previous outings at the home of cricket but gave a glowing reference to the 23-year-old.“He’s quick,” McCullum said. “I think he’s going to be a cricketer that the country really gets behind.“You can see he charges in and leaves everything out there. Some guys have a bit more of a rhythmical component to their style. I think Sonny is full noise.Sonny Baker has forced his way into the Test reckoning (Danny Lawson/PA) (PA Archive)“He swings the ball both ways. He hits probably a slightly fuller length, he’s obviously got the ability to touch 90mph and he’s got a skiddy bouncer. If it is this Test, I’d expect him to do a good job. If it’s not this Test, his time will come.”“We’ll just work out whether we want that extra air speed, if all of a sudden it becomes 35 degrees and flattens out, or if we stick to what’s tried and tested at Lord’s.”McCullum has now spoken in four separate engagements in the past seven days, two in-house and two in front of the media.England head coach Brendon McCullum addresses the media at Lord’s (Ben Whitley/PA) (PA Wire)In the past he has been criticised for making infrequent appearances, but the New Zealander explained his willingness to do the talking after a difficult winter for his team.“The temperature has been a bit hot of late and we all recognise that,” he said. “When you’re in these positions, your job is to make sure you stand up and you’re present.“You’ll probably see me a bit more often than you have previously. Hopefully you’re able to explain and navigate your way through these things, while getting your team to the start line. We can wear some of the other stuff.”