England 's dressing-room brains trust will take on an extra dimension if Zafar Ansari , the Surrey spin-bowling all-rounder , makes his international debut against Ireland in Malahide on May 8 . The 23-year-old Ansari , who celebrated his call-up with four Essex wickets at The Kia Oval , graduated from Cambridge two years ago with a double first in politics and sociology . He is halfway through a 40,000-word masters on the 1960s civil rights movement in the American south , and plays the piano to a high level . It 's fair to say he would be England 's most academically gifted cricketer since Ed Smith – another Cambridge double first – won three Test caps in 2003 . Surrey 's Zafar Ansarihas been called up to England 's ODI squad for the clash against Ireland . The left-handed batsman and left-arm spinner also has an eye on a career in academia one day . ' I think my Surrey team-mates enjoy having someone to talk to about things they do n't think about or talk about necessarily , ' Ansari told Sportsmail . ' I try to use the studies to avoid taking cricket too seriously . I think cricket is a sport , and is n't that important in the grand scheme of things . My studies and cricket are tools for each other , and I do try to see them in those instrumental ways . ' Ansari , part of a young England squad picked with the 2019 World Cup in mind , opens in four-day cricket for his county , but bats in the middle order in limited-overs matches , bowls accurate left-arm spin and is an athletic fielder . England almost chose him for the Test tour of the Caribbean . James Taylor will captain England against Ireland . 'Playing in Dublin would be nerve-wracking because of the exposure , ' he said . 'But when it comes to one-day cricket , I feel the gap between international and county cricket maybe is n't as big as between Test cricket and the second division . ' Ansari 's rise was accelerated by his five-wicket haul for Cambridge MCCU against Surrey back in 2011 , when he removed Kevin Pietersen for 30 and helped the students to a 10-wicket win . Pietersen , now a county team-mate , was going through a difficult patch against left-arm spinners , but Ansari insists the pair have not spoken about the dismissal . 'It 's never come up , ' he said . ' I do n't know if it was a touchy issue for him at the time , but it was a touchy issue in general . Anyone could have got him out – it just happened to be me . ' Ansari spent three weeks in Sri Lanka over the winter with England Performance Programme , where he talked about the art of left-handed batting with Adam Lyth and Gary Ballance , and life as a spin bowler with Stephen Parry , Adil Rashid and Adam Riley . He is juggling his time between playing for Surrey and writing up his dissertation at London 's Royal Holloway . He does n't rule out a PhD or a career in academia . If so , he would follow the path of his father , Khizar , who hails from Lahore in Pakistan , settled in England in his teens because his own father was an engineer in the British Army , and was awarded an OBE 13 years ago for his work on race relations . Zafar 's English mother is a historian . Between now and May 8 , the dissertation may have to wait its turn . ' I 'd love to give it a go with England , ' he said . 'Things can happen quickly . A couple of good performances and it starts to snowball . ' Lewis Gregory . A promising seam bowler who can bat a bit , the 22-year-old Gregory emerged through the ranks of Devon cricket before joining Somerset . Took 43 Championship wickets last season at an average of 26 . Has also captained England Under 19s . David Willey . Northamptonshire 's seam-bowling all-rounder was man of the match in the final of the 2013 domestic Twenty20 tournament . Son of former England all-rounder Peter , he celebrated his call-up with a typically hard-hitting fifty against Leicestershire . He 's a left-armer too , which is all the rage after the World Cup . His county captain Alex Wakely reckons he 's 'the Northants Botham ' . Sam Billings . An explosive keeper-batsman at Kent , the 23-year-old Billings thrashed 458 runs in last season 's Royal London One-Day Cup at an average of 114 and a strike-rate of 154 . Made England 's provisional 30-man World Cup squad when Craig Kieswetter withdrew because of an eye injury .
England have called up Zafar Ansari to their squad for ODI against Ireland . The 19-year-old has been named in the 15-man squad that will play a three-match series against Ireland, starting on June 1 at Dublin Airport. But he is also a gifted academic , with a double first from Cambridge . Ansari could be England 's most academically gifted player since Ed Smith .