Moeen Ali has been whipped out of the firing line for the second Ashes Test against Australia, with Jack Leach the replacement spinner in a 12-man England squad that has Jofra Archer set for his debut.

The 251-run defeat suffered at Edgbaston was always likely to prompt a change and so it came as no surprise on Friday afternoon when Ed Smith’s selectors, already missing the injured Jimmy Anderson, announced that Moeen was the player being left out for Wednesday’s Test.

While the 32-year-old had enjoyed a strong 12 months since returning to the side last summer, he lost his place in the one-day team midway through the seamer-dominated World Cup and his performance in Birmingham pointed to a cricketer low on confidence.

Two failures with the bat at the hands of his regular tormentor, Nathan Lyon, might not have been terminal had the bowling which returned 45 wickets from his nine previous Tests been on show. But with no red-ball cricket to speak of since the winter tour to the Caribbean – bar the seam-dominated Ireland Test that saw him send down only three overs – Moeen struggled to contain and appeared to be battling with his bowling action throughout.

In Leach, who lit up the Ireland Test match with a battling 92 from nightwatchman but found himself similarly redundant with the ball, England are clearly asking a lot.

Steve Smith’s twin centuries drove them to distraction at Edgbaston and while it is true that left-arm finger spinners have found a way past his defence, Leach, like Moeen is low on recent cricket by way of relevance.

The domestic schedule, rather than the World Cup, is to blame. Before the Ireland Test, the 28-year-old’s most recent first-class outing came in mid-July when claiming match figures of five for 184 for England Lions in their draw against Australia. He at least has solid county form from earlier in the season with 29 wickets from eight appearances.

Expectations would normally be lower still for a Test debutant but Archer seems to generate little but excitement at present. The fast bowler proved his recovery from a side problem while taking apart Gloucestershire’s second XI during the week and is now inked in to be Anderson’s replacement at Lord’s.

Test cricket has long been touted as potentially being the 24-year-old’s best format – 131 first-class wickets from just 28 matches for Sussex tells you why – and Joe Root, who struggled with a four-man attack after Anderson went down early at Edgbaston, will welcome the additional firepower he brings.

Certainly Hashim Amla, Colin de Grandomme and Alex Carey will all testify to the threat of Archer’s venomous short-ball – delivered from close in to the stumps and with no discernible change of action – after all three were struck on the head by him during the World Cup.

With fast bowler Olly Stone also out with a back injury, Sam Curran is the spare man in the reduced 12-man squad. There is, however, some thought that England may be considering his additional all-round skills at the expense of a specialist batsman.

This scenario would likely see Joe Denly drop out of the XI and Ben Stokes potentially move up to No 4. But with Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow not guaranteed to deliver amid talk of post-World Cup fatigue and low scores in the first Test, it may be considered too great a risk.

One player who will not feature again this summer is Adil Rashid, who has now been ruled out of the remainder of Yorkshire’s season with the chronic shoulder problem that required injections during the World Cup.

Rashid, who holds a Test central contract, is hopeful of being available for the winter tour to New Zealand that departs in late October and begins with a five-match Twenty20 series.

The 31-year-old, whose commitment to Yorkshire has been questioned by some supporters, pre-emptively said: “I’m genuinely disappointed not to be playing for Yorkshire, but hopefully I can do next year now. People may have other views but I just can’t play. Any other talk is nonsense. I enjoy playing cricket and enjoy playing for Yorkshire but this year it wasn’t possible with how the shoulder was. I’ve got two months now to get myself fully fit and it’s as simple as that.”

England second Ashes Test squad: Joe Root (York, capt), Jofra Archer (Sussex), Jonny Bairstow (Yorks), Stuart Broad (Notts), Rory Burns (Surrey), Jos Buttler (Lancs), Sam Curran (Surrey), Joe Denly (Kent), Jack Leach (Somerset), Jason Roy (Surrey), Ben Stokes (Durham), Chris Woakes (Warks)