Patel, Rashid and Swann are all looking for a passage to India
Spin bowlers and wicketkeepers will have their fingers crossed when England name their squad for two Tests in India on Monday at 1230 BST.
Graeme Swann, Adil Rashid and Samit Patel look the best options to support first-choice spinner Monty Panesar.
Keepers Matt Prior and James Foster, meanwhile, have had superb summers and one of them could replace Tim Ambrose.
In Michael Vaughan's absence, Essex's Ravi Bopara and Owais Shah of Middlesex are vying for the spare batting spot.
The England and Wales Cricket Board confirmed on Saturday that there would be no place for Vaughan in the party to play Tests in Ahmedabad and Mumbai in December.
The former captain struggled for runs for most of the summer, whether appearing for England or Yorkshire.
And in the final Test against South Africa at The Oval in August, won under Kevin Pietersen's captaincy, only five batsmen were used with all-rounder Andrew Flintoff at six.

IamaterrierEngland will need at least one more batsman in the squad for India, however, and Bopara - who has had a far better season than his main rival Shah in first-class cricket - may be offered the chance to improve a so far modest Test record.
The make-up of the bowling attack is likely to provoke a longer discussion, especially as England utilised two spinners - Panesar and veteran off-spinner Shaun Udal - to beat India in Mumbai in March 2006.
Panesar has had a tough summer in generally damp conditions, but is bound to be selected.
Whether the selectors are brave enough to pick 20-year-old wrist-spinner Rashid - also a handy batsman - is another matter, however.
Rashid finished the summer with a late surge of wickets - he has 62 from the Championship campaign - and would be a popular choice in many quarters.

Prior may replace ex-Sussex team-mate Ambrose behind the stumpsThe Notts pair of Swann and Patel, both in the one-day squad, are more conservative selections. Off-spinner Swann has the advantage of turning the ball the opposite way from Panesar and is the more experienced candidate, while left-armer Patel provides batting strength.
Among the potential keepers, Ambrose is the man in possession of the gloves and has an ECB increment (second-tier) contract, but he had a disappointing summer with the bat.
Essex's Foster - whose first Test tour with England was the 2001 trip to India - is recognised as the supreme gloveman on the circuit at present, and he hit 912 runs this season in the Championship at an average of 50.66.
Prior's batting numbers are similar, and stand up well given that, unlike Foster, he has faced Division One bowling.
He is not quite as tidy behind the wickets, but has improved a lot since last winter and has already been chosen for the one-day side, which will take on India prior to the start of the Test series.
With just two Tests to be played, England may choose not to take a second wicketkeeper.
Although that would be seen as a gamble if the first-choice keeper were to be injured on the morning of the match, Australia have not named a reserve keeper as cover for Brad Haddin for their upcoming four-Test tour of India.
England's one-day squad will be in India from early November to play seven matches across the country, with the Test specialists expected to join them ahead of the warm-up match in Baroda which starts on 5 December.
Possible England squad: Kevin Pietersen (capt), Alastair Cook, Andrew Strauss, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Matt Prior (wk), Stuart Broad, Steve Harmison, James Anderson, Monty Panesar, Ryan Sidebottom, Ravi Bopara, Adil Rashid.