Sayers targets England call-up

Sayers said the success of county team-mates such as Tim Bresnan, Adil Rashid and Ajmal Shahzad is spurring him on to win international honours.

Bresnan and Rashid took part in England's recent tour of South Africa, while Shahzad has been called up for next month's tour of Bangladesh.

It has left opening batsman Sayers – part of the England Performance Programme which also toured South Africa before Christmas – even more determined to follow in their footsteps.

"When you look at what the likes of Tim, Adil and Ajmal have achieved in recent times, it definitely increases your desire to play for England," said Sayers, one of the Category B players on the Performance Programme whom the England management have identified as a potential Test player within one-three years.

"Some players might like to keep that sort of thing quiet, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't push you to the next level and make you more hungry to play for your country.

"There's a lot of healthy competition at Yorkshire at present, a lot of young players who have been involved with the England set-up at various levels, and players do find themselves looking around the dressing room and saying, 'I'd like to achieve what that guy has achieved', or 'If he can do it, then why can't I?'

"That sort of attitude is healthy and not only can it drive you on to represent your country, it can also help Yorkshire become a better team."

That Sayers, 26, is even contemplating playing Test cricket is testament to the strides he has taken during the past 12 months.

This time last year the popular left-hander's career was at a crossroads; he had scored only 138 runs in his previous 21 County Championship innings at the dispiriting average of 6.90.

But aided by adjustments to his technique and a barrel-load of determination, Sayers hit back to score 1,103 Championship runs last summer at 42.42.

It led to his deserved selection for the Performance Squad.

"I want to play Test cricket now more than ever," added Sayers, who worked with former England opening batsman Graham Gooch during the Performance Programme.

"There's always a chance that another good county season could get you into the Test team and I know I could be there or thereabouts if I continue to knuckle down.

"At the same time you can only deal with what's in front of you and it's important not to get carried away.

"It's difficult to put a timeframe on playing for England; although Hampshire's Michael Carberry has shown what can be achieved by performing consistently at county level."

Sayers said he was disappointed to be overlooked for England Lions' one-day tour of the United Arab Emirates next month but pledged to channel that frustration in positive fashion.

"It was disappointing, but I haven't played much one-day cricket for Yorkshire and that's definitely a goal of mine this season," he added.

"The England selectors are keen to see some consistent performances from me in limited-overs cricket at county level and hopefully I can get plenty of opportunities to do just that.

"Andrew Gale, the new Yorkshire captain, is a good supporter of mine in terms of limited-overs cricket and I think we've got a great opportunity at Yorkshire in general to shape a new and winning culture under Andrew's captaincy.

"We're not going to start making promises that we can't keep, but I do think the squad has the opportunity this year to raise a few eyebrows."

Sayers was at Headingley Carnegie yesterday to help launch the North Yorkshire Playing for Success Educational Programme.

The out-of-hours schools' learning programme aims to raise achievement in literacy, numeracy and Information Communication Technology skills for children who are at risk of underachieving, using the stimulus of cricket as a motivating tool.

The North Yorkshire Playing for Success scheme is the first of its kind in the country delivering cricket-themed classroom work and cricket coaching to schools.