Tuesday 6 September 2016 14:49, UK
Trevor Bayliss has opened up the possibility of a change at the top of England's Test batting order when they travel to Bangladesh.
Bayliss said the second opener position, alongside captain Alastair Cook, is one of the main areas England's selection panel will look at before naming their squad for the tour, which has been cleared to go ahead despite security concerns.
The future of Alex Hales in Test cricket has come under the microscope after he struggled in his first full summer of five-day cricket and Bayliss hinted at the possibility of a call for Lancashire's impressive young batsman Haseeb Hameed.
Teenager Hameed, who captained England at U17 level, has already passed 1,000 runs on the season, and scored four centuries, and Bayliss says lack of experience will not count against him.
Asked if another change at the top of the order may be in the offing when England name their squad, Bayliss said: "Possibly. There have been some young players making some runs, who are coming into calculations - which is very exciting.
"That's obviously one of the talking points around the selection table. There are one or two positions in a squad of 16 that could go either way
Asked about Hameed specifically, he added: "If he's good enough, he's old enough. I wouldn't have any problem [picking him]."
Liam Dawson could also make the trip to Bangladesh despite being hit hard in eight overs against Pakistan at the SWALEC Stadium on Sunday, when he returned figures of 2-70. Defeat in Cardiff meant England won the one-day international series 4-1.
"He will certainly be in discussions. He's a guy who's got something about him," Bayliss added.
"He bats, bowls and he's a pretty good fielder as well. But it's his game sense (that's impressive) - he knows how to play the game, almost knows what's going to happen before it happens.
"I think this exercise was not just giving (Dawson) a first game but a few of the guys on the fringes an opportunity just to get a little bit more experience under their belts.
"Going forward, it won't just be 11 guys who get us to the top of the tree - it will be a squad of players, and we need as many guys with as much experience as possible for when they have to come in and play."
Bayliss does not believe there will be a long list of players looking to be excused from the tour, even though only Moeen Ali has so far directly stated he wants to go to Bangladesh.
Asked if he anticipates others signing up, Bayliss said: "I think most of them will. I'm not sure if there's anyone come out - certainly they haven't said anything to me one way or another.
"We hope by then [when we name the squad] we will know one way or the other with the majority of them. Once the team is selected, they will probably have a few days to make their final decision."
Limited overs captain Eoin Morgan is among the players yet to commit and Bayliss is waiting to find out if he will need a new captain for that part of the trip.
"He is still throwing it around in his own mind," Bayliss added. "That can have consequences on other guys' decisions.
"But what we have done - and [Morgan] is very much in that boat as well - we've said it's an individual choice. If someone decides not to go, that's no reason for anyone else to decide not to go as well. It's a personal decision."
