Gary Ballance told he still has England future

Batsman Gary Ballance has revealed that he has been told by England that he is still part of their plans.

The left-hander has been dropped for the third Ashes Test at Edgbaston after scoring just 98 runs in four innings, and he has been sent back to Yorkshire to rediscover his form.

He told Sky Sports News: "I was obviously gutted for a few days, but I've cleared my head and hopefully I can look forward now.

"They [the selectors] said: 'We still want you in our side, we want you in our thoughts. Just go away and score some runs,' and hopefully it'll be sooner than later that I get back in the side."

Ballance has been replaced by Jonny Bairstow.