SO, WHO’S GOING TO PASS THE TEST AT NO 6?

SAMIT PATEL (left)

STRENGTHS: Classy, wristy player who, as long ago as 2008 was considered good enough by then captain Kevin Pietersen to play solely as a Test batsman. Patel should thrive on the sub-continent while his left-arm spin, although not good enough to be a frontline attacking option in Tests, is good enough for him to be considered a fifth bowler in a balanced attack.

WEAKNESSES: The perennial questions of his fitness levels and bulge have never gone away even though he has looked trimmer and more athletic in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. There are doubts as to whether Patel, , something g of an individual, is properly accepted within the team — Graeme Swann, for one, e, is not exactly a bosom buddy — but the England environment should be able to embrace the odd maverick.

RAVI BOPARA (right)

STRENGTHS: One of the most talented batsmen in England but in danger of becoming the Mark Ramprakash of his generation by not fulfilling his ability. Bopara once scored three Test hundreds in consecutive innings but was battered during the 2009 Ashes and has not been a first-choice Test batsman since. Can wobble the seam around and get a bit of reverse swing, and could fulfil the role of fifth bowler vacated by Paul Collingwood.

WEAKNESSES: The suspicion remains that he has a questionable temperament and Andy Flower never seems to have been totally convinced by him. Bopara has not helped his cause by being late and leaving g his passport at home ahead of a bonding trip but he reckons the puchase of an ipad has helped him organise his life — as long as he remembers to charge it.

VERDICT: Bopara should start, not least because cause he was the spare Test batsman against Pakistan and never got a chance, but it will not take much for Patel to start breathing down his neck. It is Ravi’s place to lose and Samit’s to win.