Panesar's reputation is soaring

Panesar took 3-39, including a stunning delivery to bowl out Younis Khan, to end with six wickets in the match after his 8-93 in the win at Old Trafford.

"As a finger spinner there is probably no-one to match him in world cricket at the moment - his control is very good.

"This was a different pitch to Old Trafford, a lot slower," Fletcher said.

Fletcher was measured in his praise of Northamptonshire left-armer Panesar, 24, after the win in Manchester last week.

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But after seeing him outfox the likes of Younis and Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq in Leeds, has all but confirmed his place in the squad to tour Australia this winter.

"There was always a very good chance that he would be included. Now he is staking a stronger and stronger claim," the coach added.

Panesar has 31 Test victims to his name from nine matches and been a key factor in England securing an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-Test series against Pakistan.

Mahmood was impressive on the last day at Headingley

That has also impressed Derek Underwood, England's most successful spin bowler ever with 297 wickets from 86 Tests.

"He's bowled really well and it's been fantastic to watch," Underwood told BBC Sport.

"All you can ask of a spinner is if the ball turns he bowls sides out and Monty has proven to everybody he can do it.

"He's kept the ball up to the bat and not got cut too much, which is always an indication that somebody's bowling well."

Another success story for England at Headingley was Lancashire paceman Sajid Mahmood, who bounced back from a series of poor performances to take 4-22 in the second innings.

Fletcher has earmarked him to fill the role played by Simon Jones in last summer's win over Australia if the Glamorgan man fails to recover from injury in time for the return series.

"I've seen some real potential in him, especially considering who he is replacing in Simon and what we need as a priority in Australia to bowl them out two times," Fletcher explained.

"The first thing that impressed me was his pace. What also impresses me a lot about him as a quick bowler is that he tried things and if they didn't come off he was happy to try it again.

"He is also quite a calm individual but the key thing is speed, I have always believed you have to have someone who can bowl at 90 miles per hour.