With Pakistan and then India touring this summer, England need to halt the slide and reverse their form. But the major problem is this: there are only a few players who can guarantee their place in England’s test side.

Experienced opener Alastair Cook is likely to retain his spot at the top of the order despite his patchy form down under. Captain Joe Root, wicket-keeper Jonny Bairstow, and all-rounder Ben Stokes will all be penciled in for the first test against Pakistan later this month while seam bowling duo Stuart Broad and James Anderson will also be playing.

The rest, however, are uncertain. Cook’s opening partner remains a doubt with Mark Stoneman starting the season poorly for Surrey. James Vince has failed to nail down his place at number three while Dawid Malan could be kept in the side after a couple of gritty innings in Australia and a century for Middlesex last week.

After a poor Ashes series for Moeen Ali, the spinner’s place is in jeopardy and fellow all-rounder Chris Woakes still has work to do to keep his place.

England’s fringe players have had a chance to impress in the first three matches of the County Championship season. Here are five players who are bound to have caught the selector’s eye with their early-season displays.

#1 Rory Burns

Burns must be wondering what he has to do to catch the selectors’ attention. The Surrey batsman has started the season in promising fashion while his fellow opening partner Stoneman has been disappointing.

After racking up 1041 runs in Division One last year (only behind Kumar Sangakkara and Stoneman), Burns has started this season where he left off. With 340 runs already this season, he averages 56.66. His highly impressive haul of 193 against Worcestershire last week would not have gone unnoticed.

The key quality that Burns has is his patience - his ability to accumulate runs suggests that he has the temperament to partner Alastair Cook at the top of England’s order.

#2 Sam Northeast

Sam Northeast moved from Kent to Hampshire in the summer and alongside James Vince and Hashim Amla, he has formed one of the most impressive top-order batting line-ups in the country.

With over 1000 runs last year in Division Two, Northeast has made the step-up with aplomb, shining in the recent loss against Surrey. With his team-mates falling like skittles around him, Northeast made it look like he was batting on another wicket, scoring 129 off 254 balls.

It is perhaps time for England to give the 28-year-old a go in the middle order as he is in red-hot form with an average of 39 this season. Northeast is a leader - having captained Kent previously - and this is a quality he can take with him into the international arena with his reading of the game and sensible batting style.

#3 Joe Clarke

Another middle order batsman staking his claim for a spot in the side is Worcestershire’s Joe Clarke. The classy youngster scored just shy of 1000 runs in Division Two last year and is starting to find his feet in Division One now.

The 21-year-old hit a majestic 157 against Surrey in the last game to push his average up to 35 this year and he will be hoping to add to that in the final County Championship match before the first test later this month.

There are questions over his patience as he is a natural stroke player but his lengthy innings against Surrey has silenced some doubters and shown that perhaps he has come of age.

It is time for him to convert his potential into some serious runs and England could take a gamble on a player they clearly rate very highly.

#4 Amar Virdi

England need a spinner with Moeen Ali’s form being a major cause for concern and his natural successor Mason Crane is injured. Step forward Amar Virdi - a teenager given his chance to impress in the early County Championship fixtures.

And he has taken the challenge in his stride, spinning his way to 14 wickets in three matches so far at an average of 18.85, including figures of 6-105 last week against Worcestershire on a batsman’s wicket.

Virdi bowls parsimoniously and is a genuine wicket threat as well. Although there is a sizeable step up for him to make, the talented teenager has already claimed some impressive scalps, such as Hashim Amla, James Vince and Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

This shows that he can pick up wickets against international level batsmen. There is a vacancy for a spinner in England’s test side and the 19-year-old’s displays cannot go unnoticed.

#5 Ben Coad

With a knack of methodically hitting the same line and length, Coad is a batsman’s nightmare. Yorkshire’s Coad burst onto the scene last year where he picked up 50 scalps in total, demonstrating impressive control.

And the 24-year-old has started this season very impressively, picking up 23 wickets in just three matches at an average of 13.9. Coad has the ability to pitch the ball in a perfect spot and find the outside edge with his gentle away swing.

With Chris Woakes’ place in danger, Coad is surely an option for England, although there are doubts over whether he will be found out with a lack of pace at test level.

If England opt against picking Woakes, they will have to decide between Coad, Jake Ball and Essex’s Jamie Porter to share the burden with James Anderson and Stuart Broad.

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