Joe Root will head to English cricket's headquarters with Yorkshire on Sunday looking to bat himself into selection for the international summer.
The 23-year-old has not played first-class cricket since breaking his thumb on England's tour of the West Indies earlier this year - an injury which forced him out of the World Twenty20.
He made a successful return for Yorkshire's second string this week, though, scoring eight and 61 as they faced Lancashire, and he has now been named in their first-team squad for the LV= County Championship clash with Middlesex at Lord's.
13-man squad to face Middlesex: Ballance, Brooks, Gale*, Hodd+, Lees, Lyth, Patterson, Pyrah, Plunkett, Rashid, Root, Sidebottom, Williamson
— Yorkshire CCC (@Yorkshireccc) April 25, 2014
Root, who signed a two-year contract extension with Yorkshire earlier this month, is in a 13-man party selected by coach Jason Gillespie, with Tykes captain Andrew Gale admitting he may have to drop himself to accommodate Root.
Root heads into the game needing 149 runs for 4,000 in first-class cricket, with his performance likely to be under particular scrutiny as new England Head Coach Peter Moores puts together ideas for his first squad.
England's season starts with a one-day international against Scotland on May 9.
