England batsman Gary Ballance has claimed that being dropped midway through The Ashes has allowed him to regain his form at Yorkshire.

The left-hander played in the first two Tests against Australia, but was replaced by Jonny Bairstow after a poor run of form which saw him score just one fifty in four innings.

He told Sky Sports News: "It hasn't been easy but it has been good for me. It has been quite a tough summer with England. It has been good, the lads at Yorkshire have been brilliant. They are a great bunch of lads, I get on well with them.

"I was pretty gutted [to be dropped by England] but you move on and look at ways of improving and becoming a better player.

"Hopefully, over the last few weeks, I have been able to do that. I have tried to get away from the pressure cooker of international cricket and tried to focus on scoring runs and winning games for Yorkshire."

Ballance could earn a recall for the one-day series against Australia later this month.