Surrey head coach Gareth Batty – routes from county cricket to England team have ‘misted over’

Speaking at Surrey’s pre-season media day at The Oval on Tuesday, Batty suggested that the direct link between county performance and international selection has become blurred in recent years. “I think the path is partly fogged depending on what choices have been made recently,” he said.

“It’s not my place to comment on how other people do their jobs, but I’ll say it again: I believe this to be the truth. [county cricket] It is the world’s greatest hotbed for producing players for all formats. [into players].

“The best players don’t play as much because they are with England. That’s what central contracts are for. I want to give young players a lot of cricket and a lot of game time so we can select the best players to make England a top team.”

“this [county cricket] It will always have a very large place within our system. Because you can’t have it. [Test cricket] “Without this.”

“I think you’ll know when you’re going to be valued or wanted,” Burns said. “When I first came on board the criteria was you had to score the most points in a year and then you were selected and you were next in line.

“I think there’s still room for that. If you’re still knocking on the door, suddenly your name will appear among the selections. You might not feel like you’re there as a player, but if you keep putting in numbers, it’s going to be inevitable at some stage.

“On the other hand, it’s probably a pretty cool thing because even if you don’t think you’re in the conversation, you’ve gone a few innings and now you can just hit a few shots on Instagram and you’re right in the conversation. Basically, there’s a positive and a negative.”

Surrey’s England players have struggled to make an impact in Australia. Pope was dropped after three Tests, Smith scored his solitary half-century, Atkinson took six wickets at 47.33 and the Jacks leaked runs with off-spin, but continued to play a key role in the T20 World Cup. The Jacks will miss the start of the Championship season while in the IPL, but Batty said Surrey would act as a “comfort blanket” for the remaining three.

“That’s why we’re here, that’s why county cricket exists,” Batty said. “This is not, or should not be, the end game. We have to be the ones constantly trying to create the players’ dreams and get them where they want to be. “I hope everyone is still desperate to play for England, that’s very clear. [from] The way people trained.

“But it should also be a comfort to people that when they go to the UK we can come back and say, ‘We’ll have some positive truths, but we’ll have some work done.’ Because nothing can fix itself. [if you are] Feeling sorry for yourself and not doing your job.

“We understand that international cricket is a very difficult place to operate when it is not on your terms and it is very difficult to operate when things are not going your way, but we are certainly here to help and get people back where they belong.”

Key and McCullum are expected to retain their positions following the ECB’s internal review of England’s Ashes defeat. England’s next international fixture is a three-Test series against New Zealand in June, with the players spending the next two months either in their respective counties or in the IPL.