I can’t remember too many better squads than the one England selected earlier this week and will take into the Champions Trophy in early June.

They’ve got a decent amount of experience and exposure to big tournaments, including that T20 final loss in India last year.

When you have a disappointment like that, you want to make it right at the first opportunity, which should give them a bit of something extra.

In home conditions, it’s a really good opportunity to win some silverware, and I think they could go all the way.

But I don’t have them down as favourites, more dark horses.

I don’t think you can look beyond Australia in terms of favourites.

They have four lads who can bowl 90 plus mph in Starc, Hazelwood, Pattinson and Cummins along with a couple of good spin options.

Then, their batting line-up is just so powerful.

Still, we don’t know what kind of form they’re in given it’s out of their season, and we will only know once they get into the group stages.

The two one-day internationals against Ireland next weekend are extremely important for England.

Winning’s a habit no matter who you’re playing against.

There will be some players selected who don’t feature in that first Champions Trophy match, given there are some lads at the IPL, but it’s still important for them to get runs and wickets to put pressure on the first XI to make that squad stronger.

You certainly can’t win competitions without a strong squad.

The England lads will also be looking to find some form in the early stages of the Royal London One-Day Cup over the next week.

As a result of their availability for Yorkshire, I am missing out on our first match against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge today, which is disappointing.

But when you play for Yorkshire and there are so many international players who can come back at various stages, it happens. It is one of those things.

My first game is likely to come against Worcestershire at New Road on Friday. Until then, I will hit some balls and make sure that when I do come back I'm ready to make a difference to the team.

Putting my personal situation aside, it's definitely exciting to have the England lads available for the first few games. Hopefully we can start well and build some momentum.

We’ve shown some good progression in this competition over the last couple of years and have turned ourselves into a decent one-day side. Let’s hope this is our year.

Moving onto Twenty20 cricket, earlier this week it was announced that the new city-based competition will be introduced by the ECB in 2020, and it is a decision I support.

It will no doubt take a bit of getting used to for the first couple of years, but once you get past that and iron out any creases in the logistics, I’m sure it will be a good thing for English cricket.

It will be a lot more exciting, will increase the quality of cricket domestically, including the current T20 Blast, and ultimately produce better cricketers for England.

Increased revenue in the sport through the TV contract can only be a good thing as well.

There is still a lot to be decided, including which county grounds will get a host contract for the eight teams. But a Yorkshire/Leeds-based team would be fantastic.

That is not to say all Yorkshire players would be selected for that team, and personally I would not have an issue with going to play elsewhere.

As a player you have to be open to play for anyone. With the 18 counties getting cut down, you have to take any opportunity open to you given the limited number of spots.