Allan Donald has likened Dimitri Mascarenhas to former New Zealand all rounder Chris Harris.

Donald, England's bowling coach during the Natwest Series against India, believes Mascaranhes's skills are comparable to Harris, who made a record 250 one-day international appearances for the Kiwis.

He said: "I definitely think Dimi has a future in the international game - there's plenty more to come from him.

"He's settled in beautifully and I just think the way he's going to learn is by playing a lot in this series against India - and he will.

"He's one of those bowlers who's difficult getting away, like Chris Harris when he played for New Zealand. He varies his pace every single time and as a batsman you can't set yourself against him".

Mascarenhas took his first one-day international wicket in the first of the seven-match series at the Rose Bowl earlier this week, and is set to keep his place against India at Bristol today (2.30pm).

Donald added: "On Tuesday Dimi did a fantastic bowling job. There's been a lot of talk him playing for England well before this and there have also been question marks about whether he can he hack it against some of the best teams in the world.

"He showed in that first one-day he definitely can. His bowling speed doesn't matter, Harris was never quick enough either, he's just skilful and knows what it's about.

"He's played a long time for his county and worked out his game - that's the way he's going to go.

"Obviously Tuesday was a different story because we pretty much set it up front with the ball and got India under pressure. There are still going to come times when he has to bowl under pressure and slow people down.

"We will then see the true test when it comes to the real crunch, but I'm sure he will do it.

"It's not only with the ball but he also adds a great deal of depth to our batting line-up. I see him more as a batting all-rounder.

"The way one-day cricket's going now I think having depth in batting all the nway down is a great feature.

"Just like South Africa with Shaun Pollock and Andrew Hall down the order, I think Mascarenhas can do that role as he also hits a long ball".