Clarke steps up for debut as England struggle for balance

First Test countdown: Teething troubles for tourists as Trescothick ploughs lone furrow among high-order hitmen

The conditions may be hot, humid and uncomfortable, but competition for places in England's starting XI for Tuesday's inaugural Test against Bangladesh is fierce. Each member of Michael Vaughan's 15-man squad will realise that this two-Test series against the weakest Test-playing nation gives them the ideal opportunity to cement a long-term place in his side.

The fact that the runs scored and wickets taken by England during the next fortnight should be far easier to come by than any in their Test careers will not concern the players, because they know these will soon be lost amongtheir career statistics, and their averages will be two or three runs better than before.

England's players are not the only ones who could potentially benefit. Should Vaughan's side win this series 2-0 they will move up into third place in the International Cricket Council Test Championship for the first time since 2001. Such a result does not mean England are any more likely to beat Australia than they were 12 months ago, but to the England and Wales Cricket Board, whose mission statement is to be the best Test side in the world by 2007, this would be a welcome move.

Under the guidance of the former Sri Lankan coach Dav Whatmore, Bangladesh's cricket at last appears to be improving. In the three years since Bangladesh were controversially given Test status by the ICC they have lost 23 of the 24 Test matches they have played. However, despite losing their three-Test tour of Pakistan 3-0, there were signs of encouragement.

For large parts of the second and third Tests Bangladesh were in control, before throwing away all their good work in the last two days. In Habibul Bashar and Mohammad Rafique, the hosts have a batsman who is capable of scoring Test hundreds and a left-arm spinner who can put a side under pressure. But they should still be no match for England at the Bangabandhu National Stadium here.

This may be England's inaugural Test match against Bangladesh, but it is not the first time the tourists have played in what was once known as East Pakistan. Twice in the Sixties, before Bangladesh gained independence from Pakistan in 1971, England played here in two drawn matches.

Of England's top five - who pick themselves should Mark Butcher recover from the throat infection which kept him out of the Bangladesh A game - only Marcus Trescothick has scored heavily. Nasser Hussain and Graham Thorpe have both looked in reasonable shape during their brief stays at the crease, and it is on these four, and Vaughan, that the responsibility of scoring runs lie.

Rikki Clarke, Chris Read and Gareth Batty have each shown they are capable of scoring useful runs at six, seven and eight, but they have played only three Test matches between them. Read will keep wicket, but England's major dilemma is picking a bowling attack which will take 20 wickets on an unresponsive pitch.

Before Andrew Flintoff withdrew from the first of England's three winter tours with a groin injury, Vaughan's side appeared certain to play two spinners in each of these Test matches. The loss of the Lancashire all-rounder has changed the balance of England's attack, however. Without Flintoff, England will struggle to field an attack containing five bowlers unless Read bats at six, and this would be too high for a player with a first-class average in the mid-twenties.

Clarke - who is likely to make his Test debut ahead of Paul Collingwood - is potentially a good enough batsman to fill the No 6 position, but his bowling is not yet good enough for him to be England's third seamer. So the tourists will have to go into the Test with one fewer bowler than they would ideally want.

Though the pitches in Bangladesh are painfully slow, the home team's diminutive batsmen have already shown they do not enjoy facing the quickies, and this will encourage England's selectors to pick three fast bowlers plus Clarke. Matthew Hoggard has bowled well in the warm-up games, and Stephen Harmison has taken wickets.

The final two slots will be contested by Ashley Giles, Gareth Batty, Richard Johnson and Martin Saggers. Should England decide to play only one spinner, which is a distinct possibility with the final rains of the monsoon season still loitering, the decision will hinge on whether the selectors want a bowler who consistently swings the new ball - Saggers - or the quicker and more aggressive Johnson, who will pose a greater threat when the ball has lost its hardness and shine.

If England elect to play the extra paceman, Vaughan and Duncan Fletcher have a tough call to make. Giles came to Bangladesh as England's No 1 spinner, but the selectors have been impressed with Batty's all-round efforts so far.