Duckett in the mix for Test middle-order spot

Paul Farbrace, England's assistant coach, believes Ben Duckett could slot into the middle order for the Test matches against Bangladesh following his impressive first international series.

Duckett, the Northamptonshire left hander who made 2,706 runs across all formats in the 2016 English season, struck 60 on his ODI debut in Mirpur then, after a duck in the second match, compiled 63 in England's successful chase to seal the series.

Prior to the tour, it was billed as a contest between him and Haseeb Hameed, the 19-year-old Lancashire opener, as to who would open with Alastair Cook in the Test cricket. While that could still be the case - both players will have the two two-day matches in Chittagong with Cook back in England for the birth of his second child - there is also a potential vacancy lower down with Gary Ballance having made an unconvincing return against Pakistan.

"It's a bit of a shootout but they could end up both playing," Farbrace said. "There's no reason why Duckett couldn't bat in the middle order, there are places going. In terms of balance, here [Chittagong] you might want three spinners in the team, Dhaka only two. We have half an eye on the India series as well."

Duckett was a brand new face around the squad when they flew out for the tour, so much so that he admitted having not met the coaching staff on the eve of the departure. After such a stellar season, which culminated in him winning a host of awards, he came with a big reputation but Farbrace said the ease with which he has slotted in has been surprising.

"He has come in, and settled so well - better than any of us could have expected," he said. "Not many of us knew that much about him as a bloke or a player, other than what we'd seen on TV and what we'd been told by David Ripley. His calmness around the game has shown he has the temperament. He has shown it straight away."

Another option for the middle order is to play Jos Buttler as a specialist batsman. During the English season it was a notion supported by Trevor Bayliss who was unperturbed by Buttler's lack of red-ball cricket: he has played one four-day game since being dropped from the Test side in the UAE last year.

His batting stood out in the one-day series as he made 63 off 38 balls in the first match, followed by a run-a-ball 57 in the second and 25 in the third. Farbrace said that it was as though he was batting "on different pitches" but also hinted that he remained lower down in the pecking order and would require injury or illness to find a spot.

"If he can play that way in red-ball cricket, there's no reason he shouldn't be seen as a batter. He's on this trip as the second keeper to start with, but…if you're here in the squad, you're a genuine chance of playing. Broken finger, wake up ill, you're off and running. He's showed real maturity with the bat and looked high quality."