Yorkshire CCC boss gives thumbs-up to England’s vow to cast selection net wider

Part of that review drew the admission from Rob Key, the managing director of England men’s cricket, that there had been “a lack of consequence for substandard performance”, framed within the context of having “overvalued loyalty and overvalued having a settled team”.

“But what that does is it creates an environment where there’s not enough consequence,” Key has now concluded, adding that “we need to be more ruthless with our selection”.

His words - one of myriad acknowledgements of failure ranging from team selection and culture to planning and preparation - will be music to the ears of the counties and their players, especially those with other attributes to the aggressive Bazball style.

Jonny Bairstow, the Yorkshire captain, has cautioned that “the proof will be in the pudding” as England attempt to win back the faith of all concerned.

Hamilton is pleased that places are now seemingly up for grabs in the opening rounds of the Championship campaign before the New Zealand Test series starting in June, following criticism that England have essentially ignored county cricket and backed a certain group of players with a certain set of skills.

“They're making the right noises,” said the former Scotland and England all-rounder. “I think there's some good statements coming out around there being one, two, even three positions available in the Test team, which is exciting.

“It's like what county cricket used to be at the start of the year. Unless they're a hugely successful Test team, you accept that you're not going to get in (as a player).

“It's been frustrating, I can imagine, for players over the last two or three years, and understandably.

"I don't want to say it was a closed shop, but it may have felt like that to some players, and certainly from our point of view, we've got a couple of lads knocking on the door and how’s that for an incentive now? You potentially push yourself for a Test slot.

“It's good for us, it's good for the club, and we want nothing more than England to do well.”

Yorkshire have several players who will be looking to force their way into the mix when the season starts on April 3.

Bairstow believes that his ship may have sailed in that regard at the age of 36 - although a few early-season hundreds from his own bat might test whether England’s actions really do speak louder than words.

However, the likes of Fin Bean, James Wharton, George Hill and Matty Revis will all be hopeful of following in their skipper’s footsteps and into the full international set-up.

Optimism will not just be confined to those who have yet to play international cricket either, but also to those such as spinner Dom Bess, the 28-year-old who made the last of his 14 Test appearances five years ago.

Hamilton and the county directors of cricket are set to join Key on a Zoom call next week as England look to build trust with the first-class counties.

“I’m looking forward to it,” said Hamilton of the meeting. “I’m not sure whether the connection (with the counties) was lost.

“We just need a little bit more transparency, I think, and we’ll build on that. If that means rebuilding from now, then we’re very much involved and invested in it.”

Anthony McGrath, the Yorkshire head coach, agreed with that view.

“I think the lines have probably been blurred a little bit,” he said of the relationship between England and county cricket.

“I think the pathway into that (England) probably just needs to be communicated a bit better.

“My view has always been that county cricket is very strong, and I think if you pick players who perform in it, like it always used to be, I think that's a good way to go.

“Then you do get buy-in from around the country and the domestic teams.”