Anthony McGrath welcomes the chance to give insight to England in post-Ashes reset

“It depends what time of year it is,” he laughs, referencing whether Yorkshire are in contention for silverware.

In all seriousness, it is a feather in his cap and a good move by England in their post-Ashes reset.

One of the recommendations to emerge from the tour was that England needed better relationships and dialogue with the first-class counties.

There was a feeling that selection had become a closed shop, a perception that performances at county level were only likely to gain attention if they fitted the specific Bazball mould.

Now McGrath, Dawson, Arthur and Richardson will give feedback on the players they see around the traps.

As well as their skills, they will be assessing their characters and their games under pressure, intelligence that will then inform the selectors.

“It’s obviously nice to be asked,” McGrath told The Yorkshire Post.

“This is really about people in county cricket giving their views, people who see county players more often than those who are just with England all the time given their schedule and what they have to do.

“I think everyone in the county game wants to help out and wants England to do well, so if there’s any way that we can pass on opinions - whether England take the advice or not - it can only be a good thing and help bridge the gap between the county and national game.

“I honestly don’t know too much about the role yet, but I think the plan is to meet with England about three or four times a year, and I think that they’re going to brief us a bit more on what they’re looking for and it will be interesting to see what the group passes on and how they use the information.”

Along with the assistance provided by the County Insight Group, McGrath believes England’s own players have a key role too.

He cites the example of Yorkshire’s Joe Root, who is presently acquiring more first-hand knowledge of the players out there - both in Yorkshire’s dressing room and elsewhere - as he prepares for the international summer with a three-match stint in the County Championship.

In the first of those games, against Sussex at Headingley in recent days, Root saw good performances from, among others, Yorkshire’s Fin Bean, the 24-year-old opener, who made a fine hundred, and a strong all-round display from the 25-year-old George Hill.

He also faced Henry Crocombe, the highly-rated 24-year-old Sussex pace man, who got him out four runs short of a century with a good delivery that climbed on him and took the outside edge.

“Having people like ‘Rooty’ back, who faced Crocombe this week, and who saw ‘Beany’ bat and who saw George Hill, is great for the game because he doesn’t normally get a chance to see them play,” said McGrath.

“That’s why we’ve all been banging the drum about England players playing as much as possible, because the best advertisement for county cricket is the England players to be able to go back and say, ‘Look, there is some talent out there’, so it’s not just us coaches saying it or the media who watch.

“They can say, ‘Actually, this is a decent standard and there’s some good players out there’, players who are developing differently but developing all the same.

“It’s just about how can we all give England more ammunition, really, to pick players, and in terms of the County Insight Group I think the main thing is that people are going to be asked for their advice.”

McGrath said a bank of goodwill exists around the shires and believes this latest strategy can only help the players.

If players believe they have a chance of forcing their way into the national set-up, the greater the likelihood is that they will be motivated and inspired.

“I think the coaches around the country all want the same thing at the end of the day,” he said.

“Everyone’s passionate about their own counties, obviously, but they’re also passionate about helping to develop good English players.

“And the lads themselves in the dressing rooms who are eligible to play all want to play for England.

“So I think if they feel as if county cricket's being watched, and that the people who watch it regularly are asked for their opinions, then they will feel a bit more included or closer to the England team as well.”