Ex-England pair still hopeful of recall

Two men who have tasted varying degrees of success for England are among those who will be looking to turn the heads of Trevor Bayliss and his fellow national selectors when county action begins in the UK from Friday.

Veteran batsman Ian Bell, who turns 36 on Wednesday, and discarded No.3 Tom Westley, who has refined his technique in the off-season, will be turning out for Warwickshire and Essex respectively as the race for a spot in England's Test batting order heats up.

Bell played the last of his 118 Tests in November 2015 and appears an unlikely candidate to fill one of the places in England's middle-order that appears up for grabs, after James Vince and Mark Stoneman failed to secure their places on England's tour of Australia and New Zealand between November and March, averaging 30 apiece.

However, the elegant right-hander believes some time away from the game has him refreshed and energised ahead of the county season, and is refusing to rule out a return.

"You can never say never. Who knows what's around the corner?" Bell told the Daily Mail. "Physically I have done all my work.

"Would it be a backwards step (for the Test team) if someone like me started the season really well? With the cricket over the next 18 months would it be a short-term solution? I don't know the answers. It's up to me to produce the goods.

"The reality is if I had done it over the past 12-18 months I probably would have had a phone call. In a way it's a compliment that people have said I should be in that (Test) side but averaging 30 isn't – and shouldn't be – enough.

"Let's see how I start the season. It's not in the front of my mind to go out there to score runs to get in the England side. It's to go out there to score runs to win games for Warwickshire, and what will be will be."

Westley, 29, debuted for England only last year, and played two Tests against South Africa and three against West Indies.

In nine innings, he produced a best of 59 and averaged 24.12, and was subsequently not included in England's Test squad to tour Australia.

The right-hander, who averages 36.76 across 150 first-class matches, said the standard of Test cricket highlighted a couple of issues with his game he has since worked on.

"For me, personally, it is about scoring runs for Essex again and then hopefully putting my name in for selection at the start of the year," he told ESPN.

"One of the frustrating things was getting a few starts and not kicking on, and also getting out in ways I haven't necessarily got out for Essex. I was lbw a few times, which is usually a major strength of mine. But it's happened now, so I've gone away and tinkered, and hopefully I can come back better.

"I've made a few changes to my technique, nothing major … Some things were highlighted (in Test cricket), not massive flaws, just a few little things that will make me a better cricketer. Hopefully that will show this season."