ALAN Mullally is backing Worcestershire skipper Vik-ram Solanki to be the Michael Clarke of the England Test side.

The former Leicestershire and Hampshire seamer believes Solanki should be given the same opportunities in Test cricket that have made Clarke one of Australia's key players instead of being branded as a one-day specialist by the England selectors.

Mullally, the veteran of 19 Tests and 50 one-day internationals for England, is scratching his head to understand why Solanki has failed to win even one Test cap so far and was disappointed that he was overlooked for England's Ashes tour of Australia and the World Cup last winter.

Mullally said: "Vikram Solanki reminds me of Michael Clarke because even though they are completely different players their careers could have been very similar.

"Clarke began his international career in Australia's one-day side and then he played Test cricket.

"He started well but when he struggled the Australian selectors decided to stick with him and now he is one of their best players in both Test and one-day cricket.

"Vikram is also a world class player but he has been labelled as a specialist one-day player for England and the selectors didn't stick with him when they should have.

"I can't understand why they haven't given him a chance in Test cricket because there simply aren't too many more destructive players in county cricket.

"The argument against Vikram is that he only averages 26 in one-day internationals but that is unfair because he didn't have a settled place in England's batting order and he was expected to smash the ball around for quick runs.

"That is a very difficult role for any batsman so if the selectors felt Vikram's technique was too loose or they wanted him to play differently, that should have been made clear to him."

Mullally is convinced that Solanki, together with Gloucestershire batsman Kadeer Ali, should be included in England's squad for the winter tours of Sri Lanka and New Zealand because they are simply too good to ignore.

"Vikram just needs a chance in Test cricket and he will flourish," Mullally said.

"It's okay to leave him out of the England team but the Ashes series and the World Cup proved that the selectors made a lot of mistakes.

"Vikram has to be more consistent but the same could be said about a lot of other players."