Nick Compton meets with Trevor Bayliss

Nick Compton met with the England coach Trevor Bayliss on Monday to perhaps offer hope that his international career is not over.

An opening partner for Alastair Cook remained the trickiest decision for the selectors when they met on Monday to pick a squad to face Pakistan in the UAE and Compton's 149 against Yorkshire at Lord's last week was a timely reminder of the qualities that earned him his first call-up in late 2012. The hundred, his second of the season, took his first-class tally to 1148 runs at 39.58

Compton was the first man tasked with replacing Andrew Strauss as Cook's opening partner. His nine Tests, against New Zealand and India, remain the longest run of any of the openers tried since Strauss' retirement and his average stand with Cook of 57.93 is comfortably the best of any pair since Cook-Strauss ended. His debut came in the series win against India in 2012-13 and scored he back-to-back hundreds against New Zealand in Dunedin and Wellington.

Following Compton, who was dropped on the eve of the 2013 Ashes after two poor Tests at home against New Zealand, Joe Root, Michael Carberry, Sam Robson, Jonathan Trott and Adam Lyth have all been tried with no one making a compelling case for the long term.

There remains a chance that the incumbent Lyth will retain his spot despite a woeful Ashes series where he made 115 runs at 12.77. A lack of outstanding alternatives could work in his favour, although that is not a situation Bayliss wants maintained.

"The thing is there's no one out there who is putting their hand up and saying I am definitely the player," he said. "There are a number of good players who have had okay seasons but I don't think there's anyone out there who has made five, six, seven hundreds.

"If someone could do that that you'd be putting them in the team almost straightaway, wouldn't you. There's a message, an opportunity for county players over the coming months, and next season, that there are spots up for grabs."

If Lyth is dropped it almost becomes a task of plucking a name out of the hat. A recall for Compton would still be a surprise after a summer where the selectors have wanted to look to the future. The popular debate has surrounded the merits of Moeen Ali or Alex Hales.

Moeen would be a conditions-specific route, opening one of the ways for England to play a second spinner in the UAE but would appear an unlikely fit for the role in South Africa. His likelier position would be a promotion to No.5. Hales had pushed himself into pole position with over 1000 first-class runs this season only to stumble in the one-day series against Australia where he made 53 runs in five innings.

Another opener who may be considered is Durham's Mark Stoneman who has made 1051 runs at 32.84 in the Championship. The average is underwhelming, but he has three hundreds - the same as Hales and one more than Compton - with two of them coming at Chester-le-Street, one of the tougher places to bat in the domestic game.

Away from the openers there are a couple of other areas of debate: a spare middle-order batsman and the extra spinners. Surrey's Zafar Ansari is likely to earn a call-up after an impressive season where he as scored over 700 runs and taken 44 wickets with his left-arm spin and could even be an outside bet to open given he has regularly filled that role in the Championship. Jonny Bairstow was recalled during the Ashes and though his three Tests were inconclusive he would also provide keeping cover.

James Taylor, who unlike his Nottinghamshire team-mate Hales took his chance in the one-day series with a maiden international hundred at Old Trafford is likely to squeeze out Gary Ballance. Taylor's quick feet could be an advantage against spin, while Ballance has not churned out the runs since his Ashes omission and bagged a pair against Middlesex at Lord's.

The pace attack should pick itself after the Ashes success while Adil Rashid will hope to finally end his wait for a Test cap although that is by no means assured if Ansari finds a place in the final XI.

The squads for the limited-overs leg of the tour - which includes four ODIs and three T20s - will also be named on Tuesday. The England management will continue to monitor players' workload - especially those that play all three formats - which means Ben Stokes is the next in line for a rest having played every match of the season against New Zealand and Australia.

As the 2017 Champions Trophy approaches there is a chance players will be rested from Tests so that the first-choice ODI squad can play together, but that is unlikely to happen for the Test series against Pakistan or South Africa.

Possible Test squad Alastair Cook, Adam Lyth, Ian Bell, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, James Taylor, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, Zafar Ansari, Stuart Broad, Mark Wood, James Anderson, Steven Finn, Liam Plunkett