IN-FORM Essex batsman Tom Westley heads into Sunday’s County Championship clash with Derbyshire having narrowly missed out on England’s Test squad.

Westley has hit three centuries in the opening five games of the season at an average of 87.

And his stunning form resulted in him receiving a call from an England selector before their squad was announced for the forthcoming clash with Sri Lanka.

“It’s nice to be spoken about and I actually got a call from one of the England selectors before the squad was made public,” said Westley.

“He said I had been in contention and was in their thoughts so I just needed to carry on scoring runs.

“It was nice to hear but I’m not going to get carried away by any of it.

“I’ll just be focusing on the Derbyshire game and trying to score as many runs as I can to help the team get another good result.”

Westley’s form has helped Essex make a fine start to the season and they are currently 10 points clear at the top of the Division Two table.

Westley now wants the good run to continue with another good result at the County Ground.

But he is not too sure what to expect from Derbyshire.

“They have a few new players places we haven’t faced before so I think it’s going to be an exciting game,” said the 27-year-old.

“One thing our new head coach Chris Silverwood is keen on though is us focusing on ourselves and not the opposition so that’s something we’re doing.

“With Chris coming in along with his assistant Anthony McGrath plus the appointment of a new captain there’s a fresh feel around the place and it’s great.”

As a result, Essex have yet to suffer defeat this summer.

Westley’s runs have helped secured a successful start.

And he feels a disappointing winter with the England Lions in the UAE.

“I didn’t play as well as I would have liked in the winter and it was probably my bowling that kept me in the team,” said Westley.

“But after that I decided I needed to get back to doing what had worked for me in the past with Essex and that’s exactly what I did.

“So far it’s been going well and the most pleasing thing is the runs I’ve scored have helped the team get good results.

“That’s what matters most.”