JOE Sayers knows how quickly things can change in cricket, so it is therefore no surprise to listen to him refusing to rule out his chances of touring Bangladesh with England’s full squad early next year.

This time last winter the Yorkshire opening batsman was contemplating wholesale changes to his game after a barren 15 months.

But now, with a stellar 2009 under his belt, he is preparing for a five-week spell in South Africa with members of ECB Performance Programme squad and the spin-offs that could ensue.

There is no doubt a place on England’s two-Test tour of Bangladesh is a long shot, not just for Sayers but also the likes of Andrew Gale, Ajmal Shahzad and David Wainwright, but what harm is there in dreaming?

“I certainly don’t think it’s out of the question,” said Sayers, who is well aware of the rumours that a number of key England players could be rested for the tour, including captain and opener Andrew Strauss.

“We’ve all received a lot of positive feedback from the (ECB) coaches at Loughborough about why we are here – and with a lot of hard work, anything could happen.”

Sayers, who passed 1,000 runs in Championship cricket for the first time in his career during the 2009 domestic campaign, has already played for the England Lions against Australia.

But the trip to Pretoria a week on Sunday, and the potential of working with ex-England captain Graham Gooch, represents his best opportunity to impress the England hierarchy.

“I am really looking forward to it,” continued the 26-year-old. “I’m certainly going to give it everything I’ve got in the lead-up to Christmas.

“It’s a time when I usually wouldn’t pick up a bat, and I would switch off for a while until we returned to pre-season training, but this trip is going to be quite heavily fitness-based. I’ve got my eye on coming back in the best shape possible.

“I will have to manage my time after Christmas pretty well, but I will be ahead of where I usually am early in the year.”

While getting the chance to work with and alongside past and present players such as Gooch and Ian Bell, Sayers and the other three Yorkshire players will be meeting up with White Rose team-mate Jacques Rudolph.

“We have got the braai (South African barbecue) organised,” he chuckled. “Jacques has opened his door to all of the Yorkies on the trip. “We will have a laugh and a joke, but I’m sure we will discuss what happened this season and what we have got in front of us next summer.”

Sayers and Rudolph, who could actually line up against each other in a friendly match between the Performance Programme and the Nashua Titans, shared a successful opening partnership in the 2009 Championship.

They scored 1,288 runs in 26 innings together, with the first wicket averaging a more than respectable 51.5.

It was a partnership that Sayers felt worked, despite criticism from many of the club’s members and supporters.

“It was certainly a gamble to move our best batsman (Rudolph) up to face the new ball from number four, but it was a gamble worth taking with the way the opening partnership had gone the season before.

“Jacques will be honest enough to say that he wasn’t at his best all the way through the season – but he’d had experience of that position in South Africa, and he’s probably an improved player.

“I think it worked. We both had successful seasons, and we enjoyed it. But who knows where we go from here?”

That is the perfect question to pose regarding Sayers’ career. He is aiming for the very top.

Sayers will be publishing a photo diary of his time with the ECB Performance Programme squad in South Africa on the website www.pongocricket.com