ANDREW Gale is backing Gary Ballance to star for England again – potentially against Sri Lanka and Pakistan this summer.

Ballance is preparing to start the new campaign with Yorkshire later this month.

He was left out of England’s Test team following the opening two Ashes matches last July having returned a run of low scores.

The 26-year-old’s omission famously came with criticism of his technique, largely from media pundits.

But many of his Yorkshire team-mates leapt to his defence pointing to an excellent record of 1,194 runs from 15 Tests at an average of 47.76, including four hundreds.

Ballance toured Dubai and Abu Dhabi with Yorkshire last month, scoring centuries in a two-day friendly against Lancashire and the champion county fixture against the MCC.

His 105 against the MCC was the first first-class century of the English summer by anyone. And Gale believes there are plenty more to come from the left-hander.

“He looks a millions dollars, if I’m honest. He looks back to the old Gary,” said the Yorkshire captain.

“He’s got that selfish hunger back for runs and that stubbornness about his batting. If he keeps going like he has done the last few weeks, he’s going to get a lot of runs.

“The flip-side of that is that he’s going to get a call-up at some stage. But I know speaking to Gary, England’s right at the back of his mind.

“He’s said ‘I’m not even thinking about that. I just want to start the season well and play good cricket for Yorkshire’.

“I think England have probably got a decision to make for that first Test (against Sri Lanka at Headingley on May 19).

“Do they go with Alex Hales and Nick Compton together or pick one of them and get Gary back in? That’s certainly a possibility.

“It’s a bonus having him around at the minute. I just hope he doesn’t go too well and they end up stealing him.”

Gale believes Ballance was “bruised” after being left out by England: “But Gary certainly has the bit between his teeth now,” he said.

“His movement looks good. You can just tell with Gary where he’s hitting the ball.

“He’s getting his weight back into the ball and hitting it back down the pitch and driving it through extra cover. You know when he’s doing that, he’s in a good place.

“He probably admits himself that he got pushed back a bit too far. His weight was back, but he’s cleared that technical flaw up.

“You forget that Gary’s still pretty young in the scheme of being a Test cricketer and yet he averages close to 50.

“People wrote him off pretty quickly after that Ashes, but he’ll be back.”

Ballance is expected to be part of the Yorkshire squad which travels to his former county Derbyshire on Tuesday for a two-day friendly.

The fixture is not open to the public due to the ongoing redevelopment of the County Ground.

* Yorkshire have confirmed that Tim Bresnan will miss the first six weeks of the new season with a tear in his lower left calf, the diagnosis of which was initially described as an Achilles injury.

Seamer Matthew Fisher also picked up a hamstring strain while on last month's pre-season tour but it is hoped he will be fit for the start of the season.