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Australian batsman Sam Robson could well open the batting for England in their next Test.
The 24-year-old from Sydney has frequently been mentioned in the British press as a leading candidate to partner England skipper Alastair Cook at the top of the order in their Test series at home against Sri Lanka in June
He has also received strong support from several well-known ex-players.
Asked recently to name his favoured starting line-up for England’s next Test against Sri Lanka, former English skipper Michael Vaughan had Robson opening with Cook.
Even legendary Aussie spinner Shane Warne floated the idea of Robson playing for England against Sri Lanka in a recent column for British newspaper The Telegraph.
Warne’s long-time adversary, former England wicketkeeper Alec Stewart, also identified Robson as a potential addition to the English Test side in the wake of their Ashes debacle.
England clearly need to identify a new batsman to join forces with Cook against the new ball.
They used three different players in that role last year – Nick Compton, Joe Root and Michael Carberry.
Compton was dumped and replaced by Root for the Ashes in England after timid displays against New Zealand in the preceding Test series.
It has been speculated in the English media that the 30-year-old’s cards may have been marked by the English selectors, signalling a possible end to his Test career.
Carberry, too, may never play another Test for England, having ended the Ashes with several limp, hyper-defensive innings.
Given he turns 34 this year it seems likely England will seek a younger man to take his place against Sri Lanka.
That man may not necessarily be Root.
The 23-year-old Yorkshireman had no answer to Australia’s quicks for most of the winter Ashes and was subsequently shunted down to number six for the return series down under.
His inability to score at anything approaching a reasonable rate saw him dropped for the fifth Test at the SCG.
That leaves Robson as a frontline contender to open with Cook.
The former Australian under-19 player has dual-citizenship due to his English mother.
He qualified to play for England in August and toured Australia this summer with the England Performance Programme.
He pushed his case for higher honours by making hundreds in both the games he played, against the Western Australia and Queensland second XIs.
Robson is a specialist in the longest form of the game and rarely plays limited overs cricket for Middlesex.
A compact batsman with impressive patience who has been compared to former English opener Mike Atherton, he has made 3851 runs at an average of 40 in first-class cricket.
He was the third-highest scorer in the English county division one competition last season, with 1180 runs at 47.
Cricket Australia made a belated attempt to lure Robson home in August, changing their rules in regards to the eligibility of Australian players with dual passports to compete as a local player in more than one domestic competition.
It was too little too late.
Robson is a fine prospect who under different circumstances may have been in the mix to take over from veteran Aussie opener Chris Rogers when he retires.
Now it is quite possible he could be among the opposition when Australia travel to England to defend the Ashes in 2015.
If so it would only add further spite to what is likely to be another fiery battle between the Ashes foes.
Just six months ago it would have been unthinkable.
But now England may have to turn to an Aussie to try to help them regain the treasured urn.