Daniel Bell-Drummond says he is desperate to keep his incredible form going and join Kent teammate Sam Billings in the England set-up.

The 22-year-old opener is just 24 runs shy of 1,200 in all competitions already this season and has been the subject of praise from all quarters.

Bell-Drummond claimed he was not surprised by his form, saying: “I’ve ridden my luck at times and batted really well at times. I’m just very grateful it’s happened.

“I’m very happy with how I’ve been. It’s been a bit different to previous seasons but I just want to keep my head down and keep my form up for myself and the team.”

Bell-Drummond revealed he had not been contacted by England selectors amid his run of form but hadn’t expected to receive a white-ball call this week.

He said: “I haven’t heard anything. I wasn’t really expecting to. A few people have said a few nice things to me. It’s an honour to think that people are banging my drum. It shows how well I’ve done.

“My dream is to play for England one day but I’ve got to keep scoring runs – I’ve only done it consistently for these three months just gone.

“I’m just desperate to keep my form going and try to score runs for Kent and keep pushing for higher honours.”

While Bell-Drummond being overlooked for the England ODI squad on Monday was no surprise, Billings being overlooked was, though the keeper-batsman, who turned 25 on Wednesday did earn a T20 call to face Sri Lanka on July 5.

Skipper Sam Northeast revealed: “It was a surprise. Apparently he knew before the game on Sunday (against Glamorgan when Billings hit 106 not out from 54 balls).

“He went out and got a hundred so that’s probably a bit of a wake-up call to selectors.”

As for Bell-Drummond Northeast added: “Everyone takes it for granted now – if he doesn’t get 60-plus we’re all disappointed. Hopefully people above are looking at him because he’s certainly in great nick.

“I’m sure he’s on the selectors’ radar. Obviously there are some Lions games coming up which we don’t want him to play in.

“Hopefully he keeps putting in performances for us and winning us games of cricket.”