BOLTON leg-spinner Matt Parkinson is hoping his brief spell helping England prepare for their first two Test Matches against Pakistan can boost his own bid to reach the top of the game.

Parkinson, aged 19, has enjoyed an excellent start to life as a first-class cricketer with Lancashire during the last five weeks.

The ex-Heaton star has taken 10 wickets in four County Championship matches, including a debut five-wicket haul against Warwickshire at Emirates Old Trafford.

And it is that form that prompted England captain Alastair Cook and coach Trevor Bayliss to utilise him in the build-up for Tests at Lord’s and Old Trafford.

“Pakistan have obviously got Yasir Shah, so England wanted me and Josh Poysden from Warwickshire to come down and bowl at them,” explained Parkinson.

“It was good for me, although it was more about helping them prepare.

“But you learn about what the lead up to a Test is like for them, the hotels, the media and all that kind of thing.

“It’s a good thing to see when you’re trying to become a Test cricketer.

“It was good to bowl at the Test players, it’s a good challenge and shows you how far you’re off that standard. It gives you a hint as to what you need to do to get there.

“I spoke to Moeen Ali quite a bit, and it was definitely good to be around them.

“Even if they don’t really give you any pointers, which is understandable a day before a Test, when they say ‘well bowled’ it helps.

“Then you think ‘I’ll bowl that particular ball more often’.”

Parkinson admits being handed his debut against Warwickshire last month was a surprise.

“I didn’t think I was going to play in the Championship,” he continued.

“I did about six games as 12th man in the one-day competition, so I thought my chance was going to come in that.

“But Simon Kerrigan was injured to start with, and then I’ve managed to stay in for the last three games. Hopefully I can play a few more games through the rest of the season.”

Last week, Parkinson played alongside left-armer Kerrigan in the Championship defeat against Durham at Southport.

He took two wickets in the first innings, including England batsman Ben Stokes caught and bowled with his first ball of the match.

Stokes and Lancashire’s Jimmy Anderson were both involved as they recovered from knee and shoulder injuries respectively.

“It’s a bit weird playing with Jimmy because I’ve watched him for so long on the TV, and now I’m in the same dressing room as him,” he added.

“It was a tough defeat to swallow for us because it was such a close game.

“But we’re just one win away from the top (20 points) with six games left, and we’ve got to try our best to win every game because it’s so tight up there.”

Lancashire’s next Championship match is against relegation-threatened Hampshire at Southampton, starting August 4.