**** Surprises in England's Test Squad to Bangladesh ****

Dilly,

As you know I have little time for Ballance but the subcontinent is where his game may flourish as he will get stuck in and those pitched at normally flat.

I am not sure why we feel the need to have an overly attacking partner for Chef. Especially in the subcontinent where you have to get really stuck in and bat long, Hameed seems to be the better option, from what I have heard.

That is the knock on Duckett. He has scored his runs in Division Two, as opposed to Hameed who has scored runs in Division One. Although Duckett has played on some real turning pitches in Division Two and is an excellent player of spin, whereas the pitches in Division One are better suited for seamers.

Duckett also has four years worth of experience playing county cricket, as compared to Hameed's two, and Duckett has played a chunk of limited overs cricket, a format that Hameed doesn't play.

There is also the belief that England want a more attack-minded batsman to partner with Cook in an effort to score runs quickly against the new ball in Bangladesh and India. Runs on the board early should in theory help to relieve some of the pressures that will come later when the ball starts turning or reversing.

I have no doubt he will be a fixture in England's limited over sides for years to come, although for me personally, I would go with Hameed. He is somewhat of a throwback player in today's modern era. Very strong mentally and will happily occupy the crease for hours on end.

Thats it, period. punto, finale !

IIRC, Alastair Cook was the last opener that made the jump from Division Two to Test cricket.

Root, Bairstow, Moeen Ali and Kerrigan were also playing in Division Two when they received a Test call up. I believe the split over the last 5 years of players making their debut is 13 from Division One and 4 from Division Two.

Oh, okay ! ...There is precedent .

Chief Selector tooting Duckett's horn !

Hameed for Tests in my mind and see how Duckett goes in the ODIs as you need a Shiv type opener in the subcontinent which Hameed seems to be.