Rory Burns insists he has 'credit in the bank' after being dropped by England

Rory Burns believes he has ‘credit in the bank' which will help him ensure he can be given a chance to secure an Ashes place later this year.

The England opener was left out of the final two Tests against India this winter after scores of 33, nought, nought and 25 in Chennai, but the left-handed batsman is optimistic of a comeback this summer – though his immediate focus is on finding form with his county.

“There’s a bit of credit in the bank there in terms of what I’ve done over a period of time,” said the Surrey captain ahead of their championship opener at Gloucestershire, which gets under way on April 8.

“But it’s more about what’s going on between my ears, how I’m approaching the game, how I’m doing things in terms of how I want to lead this Surrey side and where we want to go here. That’s my main point of focus now.”

Burns has forged an opening partnership with Dom Sibley over the last couple of years, and enjoyed a relatively successful Ashes debut in 2019. Only Ben Stokes scored more runs than the Surrey man, who hit a century in the First Test at Edgbaston.

But the performances of Zak Crawley and the re-emergence of Jonny Bairstow has made competition for places in the top order all the more competitive. England have another busy summer of Test cricket, including series against India and New Zealand before they head Down Under for the Ashes in December.

Burns, meanwhile, was reluctant to discuss his much-publicised Twitter spat with women’s cricketer Alex Hartley, an incident after which it is understood both parties were reminded of their responsibilities by the England and Wales Cricket Board.

“I think it’s all been dealt with and sewn up,” added Burns. “It’s not something I want to be drawn on. Everyone knows the pros and cons of social media and I don’t want to elaborate any further on my personal views on it.”