Martyn Moxon is backing Trevor Bayliss to deliver for Yorkshire

NEW DIRECTION: England head coach Trevor Bayliss wants his players to appear more regularly for their counties something which should benefit Yorkshire in their title quest.

The county’s director of cricket said that Trevor Bayliss and Andrew Strauss are keen for the England players to take part in as much county cricket as possible.

Moxon met head coach Bayliss, director of cricket Strauss and national selector James Whitaker towards the end of last summer and was “very encouraged” by discussions.

Moxon had previously voiced concerns that Yorkshire were being deprived of players too often, with the attitude of the new England regime representing something of a shift from previous policy.

“We’ve kind of fought our corner, I guess, and to be fair to Andrew Strauss, he’s been very receptive and willing to listen,” said Moxon.

“After conversations with him, he instigated a meeting with myself, Trevor, himself and James Whitaker towards the end of last season to discuss the situation, and it was a great meeting that lasted a long time.

“We had dinner and a really good conversation. To be honest, we’re all on the same page, and it was really encouraging to have that chat.

“As far as Trevor’s concerned, he was very much that he wants the England players to be playing county cricket whenever possible.

“Clearly, England have got a busy schedule ahead and we have to accept that there might be times when the players have to rest.

“However, the general principle is that he’s going to release them as much as he can back to us, so we can’t ask for any more than that really.

“He’s an impressive man – I have a lot of respect for what he’s doing with the England team – and he’s similar, I think, to the way that we like to go about doing things at Yorkshire.”

Bayliss – who took over from Peter Moores last summer – has been true to his word if the England player availability for the early part of the season is any indication.

All the England players are available for the formative stages of the County Championship programme, with champions Yorkshire the main beneficiaries ahead of the Test match summer that starts on May 19.

Joe Root, the England vice-captain, will play his first games in the Championship for over 19 months when he faces Notts and Surrey in the early part of May after a brief rest.

Fellow World T20 colleagues Adil Rashid, Liam Plunkett and David Willey will be available to Yorkshire from the start of their Championship campaign on April 17, along with Jonny Bairstow and Gary Ballance.

It means Yorkshire will be in the rare position of finding themselves at pretty much full strength, with only Tim Bresnan (calf) sidelined.

Consequently, they will have a great chance to put down a marker in the first quarter of the season as they pursue a hat-trick of titles.

Moxon is also optimistic that Yorkshire will continue to see their international players as the summer advances.

Although Root is unlikely to be available as a guaranteed pick in all forms for England, the others are likely to be around at various times.

“It all depends on the England selections, of course, but it could work out quite okay for us,” said Moxon.

“Rooty can play a couple of games before the first Test but, after that, it’s unlikely we’re going to see him, while the only other player currently involved in the Test team is Jonny Bairstow.

“Adil could be in the squad again, but if what Trevor has said to me carries on, then he’ll be allowed to play for us if he’s not in the Test team.

“Obviously, during the one-dayers, if things are as they are now, we’re going to lose Adil, David Willey and Liam Plunkett and we’ll get Jonny back.

“It could be that Adil is available for 10 or 11 Championship games, and that David Willey will be available for the majority of our Twenty20 fixtures.”

Moxon and first-team coach Jason Gillespie have had to carefully manage playing resources in the light of so many international calls.

Their biggest challenge, on paper, is replacing Rashid, with no other spinner beating down the door.

However, Karl Carver, the 20-year-old left-armer, is an encouraging prospect who could well stand in, while the club have been looking closely at such as former Essex leg-spinner Tom Craddock, with Yorkshire assessing various options.