Scott Borthwick, Chris Schofield and Crane managed four Tests between them and that is it for specialist leg-spinners. Since the start of 1991, England have taken 90 wickets with leg-spin, but more than 1,300 with finger spin. Of course, there are more finger spinners in county cricket, but one glance at the England team for the first Test in Antigua on Tuesday sheds light on the English attitude to leg-spinners.

Warne recently described Parkinson as “pretty exciting. I love watching him.” Parkinson tweeted on Friday that Warne “shaped my love of cricket and of leg-spin”. 

Parkinson is in Antigua, but was spotted only wearing a yellow bib and running on drinks during England’s warm-up match last week against the WICB President’s XI. Paul Collingwood confirmed Parkinson is only back up to Leach – presumably he will play only if the left-armer is injured or England are desperate.

Warne would sniff conservatism again. Leach had a difficult Ashes. Yes, he was handled oddly by Joe Root but players are ultimately responsible for performance and Leach took six wickets at 53.50 in three Tests, four of those wickets in one innings in Sydney.

Parkinson suffers because of his lack of batting and fielding skills but selecting a leg-spinner would at least add more substance to  talk of England’s “reboot”. England are likely to start this series with only one change – Craig Overton for the injured Ollie Robinson – to the attack in Brisbane.

You have to feel for Parkinson who spent three months in the biobubble in Sri Lanka and India last winter without bowling a ball in competitive cricket. Only head coach Chris Silverwood, was locked in the bubble for as long.

“I think he [Parkinson]  is a bloody good bowler. I would play him. I will have 10p with you. If he plays in the first Test he will be the leading wicket-taker in the series for England,” Hobbs told Telegraph Sport, the leg-spin union as strong as ever.

“He is the best prospect we have got. He does not turn it a lot but you don’t have to turn it a lot, just an inch or two. He is very accurate and he has a nice repeatable action. The most economical bowlers are off-spinners and left-arm spinners and I don’t think leg-spinners have been given a great chance. I thought Ian Salisbury was badly treated. I thought he was a fine bowler until he was thrown to the lions.”

Salisbury averaged 76 from 15 Tests spanning eight years, suffering the inevitable comparison with Warne, and admits he struggled with nerves playing for England. 

“I wish I had known this – that the batter is under more pressure than you as a bowler,” he says, speaking before Warne’s death. “If you look at Shane Warne’s record in Sheffield Shield it was  worse than in a Test match. He realised pretty quickly there was more pressure on the batter in Test cricket and that released the tension in him. 

“He  was an outlier. He did as much damage as good for leg-spinners [due to the comparison]. You didn’t hear people saying a left-hander had to bat like Lara because he was a great of the game but leg-spinners were instantly compared to Warne and that was unfair.

“It takes understanding, patience and a good captain who has empathy and understands it takes 10 overs to take a wicket. If Parky is made to feel he belongs he will perform.”

Leg-spinners are going to miss Warne, speaking and tweeting in their defence. He would have made Parkinson feel welcome.