Early on Sunday morning, England will be facing New Zealand in the first one-day international (ODI).
Over the last two years they have been in a rich vein of form in this format after the dismal World Cup in 2015 where they were embarrassed in the group stages.
England are boosted by the fact that Ben Stokes is again available for selection which will only strengthen the team.
The one thing I have noticed in the selection of the ODI squad and teams is that they usually consist of players from Division One of the County Championship.
This means that many players in the lower divisions will not get the recognition that they perhaps deserve.
For the limited overs squads, this shouldn’t matter as there are no divisions in these competitions.
Therefore, you would expect a more even playing field when it comes to selection, but it doesn’t appear that way.
At Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, there are a couple of players that are pushing for England call-ups both in the immediate and near future.
One player is all-rounder Benny Howell.
Howell is a gifted player and in the T20 Blast in 2016, he was the leading wicket taker for the tournament, an incredible feat.
Also in 2015 he was ranked second in the Professional Cricketers Association most valuable player rankings for his performances in the Royal London One Day Cup.
Since then he has been all over the world playing in T20 leagues including the Bangladesh Premier League.
Another player who may have a future in the England set-up is Matt Taylor.
Taylor is a left-arm seamer, which is rare in England.
They don’t have many left-arm bowlers at their disposal which means that if he continues to develop as a cricketer, he could help solve that problem.
England are aware of him as he was picked to go on a winter pace programme in January 2017.
