Yorkshire pair Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root have been handed England Lions call-ups to face Sri Lanka ‘A’ in the coming weeks.

Bairstow and Root have been named in a 12-man squad for the four-day match at Scarborough, starting next Tuesday.

And York ace Bairstow is the only Yorkshire player to have been selected in another 12-man party for three one-day matches on August 12, 14 and 16 at Worcester and Northampton.

Bairstow and Root are set to miss next Tuesday’s LV= County Championship crunch clash against Hampshire at the Rose Bowl, while Bairstow will then skip Clydesdale Bank 40 trips to Middlesex and Derbyshire.

Both players will be available for this Sunday’s 40-over trip to face the Netherlands at Amstelveen.

The selection of Bairstow, 21, is no surprise seeing as he has already played for the Lions this summer and toured with them to the West Indies over the winter.

But 20-year-old batsman Root’s call is unexpected even though he has impressed with 604 runs from 11 Championship matches this term, including four fifties.

“Joe’s been very consistent throughout the summer, and we’re very pleased for him,” said White Rose director of professional cricket Martyn Moxon.

“He hasn’t got a hundred yet, but his performances have been consistent. He’s shown great potential.

“I think he’s shown his qualities, and the selectors have obviously seen that too. They’ve picked up on that, and want to give him the chance to show it again, which is fantastic for him.”

With Craig Kieswetter in the four-day squad, Bairstow is not certain to keep wicket. But he will do for the one-day matches because Kieswetter has not been selected due to him being England’s number one limited-overs gloves-man.

The series will provide Bairstow, who has not yet scored a half-century against the white ball, with a big opportunity.

He has been in stunning Championship form, but one-day cricket is an area of his game that needs improving if he is to continue his rise.

“We know Jonny can be a destructive batsman, so it will be interesting to see where he bats,” continued Moxon.

“He will obviously be keeping in those one-dayers, which is very important for his development and to keep the pressure on Kieswetter.”

Gerard Brophy will take the gloves in Bairstow’s absence, meaning the Hampshire clash will be his first Championship outing since May 11, ironically against the same opponents at Headingley.

Brophy injured his thumb in that match, meaning he could not play against Lancashire at Liverpool when Bairstow was last on Lions duty.

Yorkshire were forced to bring Simon Guy out of retirement to play, and they would consider doing so again if a similar situation arose.

Yorkshire return to 40-over action against Group ‘A’ leaders Sussex under lights at Hove tomorrow.

Despite having little chance of qualifying for the semi-finals with six matches left, Moxon added: “Having done so well last year, the CB40 is a competition in which we want to prove our worth.”