Teenager Rehan Ahmed is in line to become England's youngest men's Test debutant as the tourists prepare for their third and final red-ball clash with Pakistan.
The 18-year-old, who was added to the senior squad after impressing in an Abu Dhabi camp ahead of the team flying out, was passed over for the first two matches.
With Liam Livingstone having suffered a tour-ending injury in the opener, however, Ahmed is the only recognised wrist-spinner England have ahead of their last match in Karachi.
Having favoured the additional slow options of Joe Root and Will Jacks on flat pitches so far, captain Ben Stokes has revealed Ahmed could well figure as the tourists look to complete a clean sweep.
"We've been thinking about it," he said. "We can't go into too much detail until me and Baz [head coach Brendon McCullum] have had a look at the wicket.
"When we spoke about having Rehan into the squad, it was more than just bringing him in and integrating him into the squad. We did speak about us having no issues with selecting him if we felt it was the right option.
"I don't think this is a case of, if he was to play, of giving caps away. We picked him in the squad not just because of his talent, but because we thought it would be a good opportunity to play if we thought it was necessary."
Ahmed was not originally in the squad named for the tour, but a maiden cap would round out a breakthrough year that saw him impress in the Under-19 World Cup and earn a spot with Southern Brave in the Hundred.
"Having a wrist-spinner is always exciting, especially for England," Stokes added.
"But [we are] not getting too carried away with the potential that he has, because he is only young, and you've still got to nurture talent, even how exciting it is."
If Ahmed were to play, he would be 18 years and 126 days - surpassing legendary captain Brian Close who was 18 years and 149 days when making his debut in 1949.
The youngest ever England Test debutant was Holly Colvin, who was 15 years and 336 days when playing for England women against Australia in 2005.
Dr. Donovan Bennett defeats Billy Heaven in JCA Presidential election
Dr. Donovan Bennett is the new president of the Jamaica Cricket Association after defeating Wilford ‘Billy’ Heaven at Thursday’s elections at the 20th JCA Annual General Meeting held at the Jamaica Conference Centre in Kingston.
Bennett, who served as JCA vice-president for 11 years, is set for his first term at the helm after a 67-30 victory.
Heaven served as JCA president for the last 10 years and was seeking a fifth term.
New Zealand take unassailable series lead after hard-fought victory over Pakistan
Pakistan slumped to a four-run defeat at the hands of New Zealand despite the efforts of Abbas Afridi and Fakhar Zaman.
The Black Caps took an unassailable 2-1 lead in the five-match T20I series, thanks in the main to Tim Robinson (51) and bowling duo William O'Rourke (3-27) and Ben Sears (2-27) on Thursday.
Set a target of 179 to win, Pakistan looked on their way to victory when Fakhar Zaman got going, but he was eventually dismissed on 61 by Sears.
Abbas took three wickets in New Zealand's innings, yet he could only contribute a single run to Pakistan's cause as the hosts fell just short in Lahore.
Data Debrief
Shadab Khan did not bowl a single delivery for Pakistan, which is the first time that has happened in a completed T20I innings.
He did take an exceptional catch to dismiss Mark Chapman, but it was not enough to inspire Pakistan.
IPL: Kohli and Patidar star to snap RCB's losing streak
Royal Challengers Bengaluru ended a six-match losing streak in the Indian Premier League by claiming a convincing 35-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Bengaluru still sit bottom of the standings, but have reason to cheer after Virat Kohli's 51 and Rajat Patidar's 20-ball 50 got the job done in style on Thursday.
Cameron Green chipped in with a useful 37 as RCB reached 206-7 from their 20 overs, and the Australian then took 2-12 with the ball as the Sunrisers failed to get going.
Shahbaz Ahmed top scored for Sunrisers with 40 not-out, but it was not enough as they only mustered 171-8 in response.
Data Debrief
Thursday's match marked Jaydev Unadkat's 100th in the IPL, and though he finished on the losing side, he did take a memorable three-for to celebrate the occasion.
It was Unadkat who dismissed Kohli, Patidar and Mahipal Lomror, finishing with figures of 3-30.
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