Rikki Clarke's career is still in the early stages but as his performances grow in authority so does the idea that England have found a solution to their perennial problem of balance.
 |  I was able to play a few more shots and be like the real Rikki Clarke |
The 22-year-old's maiden Test half-century against Bangladesh came in just his 25th first-class match, displaying an ability to balance aggression with caution to fit the situation. It comes just a week after a difficult Test debut, when frustration after a tight bowling spell boiled over into an obviously abusive outburst against a Bangladesh batsman.
Clarke escaped a ban but was fined half of his match fee.
"He is sampling every high and low in a short period of time but he looks to have settled in," says Keith Medlycott, Clarke's coach at Surrey.
"He bowled well in the first Test and now he is backing that up with his batting."
Clarke's bowling has not yet been threatening enough to gain him a place opening the attack - or first-change away from the subcontinent.
He bowled economically, taking a single wicket in Dhaka, and furthered his prospects with two quick wickets after tea on the second day of the second Test against Bangladesh.
But if he can justify his inclusion as a batsman, he will give England a vital extra option as they pick their team. As Andrew Flintoff returns to action, England will get a chance to play both men in the Test series in Sri Lanka.
Clarke already appears to have put himself ahead of another all-rounder, Paul Collingwood, who holds a 12-month central contract.
With the advantage of greater pace, Flintoff opened the bowling in Tests on England's last visit to the subcontinent - the tour of India two years ago.
If he recovers fully from the groin problem that kept him out of the current series, the inclusion of a second all-rounder would make it possible for the tourists to again play two spinners.
"Rikki would be the first to accept he still has a lot to do with the ball," says Medlycott.
"But it took Andrew Flintoff a little while to stake his claim as a world-class all-rounder.
"I think Duncan Fletcher would love the scenario of having both Clarke and Flintoff in the same side - it would give it fantastic balance."
Medlycott mentions South Africa's Jacques Kallis - a number three batsman and under-used strike bowler - as an example. It is a comparison Fletcher is well-placed to make after his time with Kallis in South African provincial cricket.
The line-up permutations could become academic by year's end, as England prepare for a trip to the West Indies that will require strong pace bowling and six front-line batsmen.
But before then, Clarke has a chance to gain some valuable experience, and build a reputation as a man who can fill in whenever, and wherever, he is needed.
To displace one of the current veteran batsmen in the top-order he would find himself in a familiar position.
Early last season, Surrey struggled to find space for their young prodigy in an order containing Mark Butcher and Graham Thorpe.
It may continue be a problem for the national side but it is not one Medlycott expects to have at The Oval next season.
He laughs: "Rikki's performances suggest he may be unavailable for most of the year, as the rest of the England boys are."
MMIX
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