Gary Ballance could put himself in the shop window for another international recall when he captains England Lions for the three-day tour match against South Africa next week.
Ballance was discarded by England following a wretched time in Bangladesh, where he made four single figure scores across two Tests last winter, but has bounced back with aplomb in 2017 after being named Yorkshire skipper.
The nuggety left-hander's average is in excess of 100 after seven Specsavers County Championship matches this season, earning him a place in a 12-man Lions squad, which also includes Sam Billings, a regular in England's limited-overs set-up.
National selector James Whitaker said: "Gary Ballance has had an excellent start to the season with Yorkshire, impressing with both his batting and his captaincy, and we wanted to give him this opportunity to lead the Lions against international opposition.
"Similarly for Sam Billings, it is a chance for him to show what he can do both as a batsman and a wicketkeeper in a first-class fixture for the Lions after several months playing one-day and T20 cricket for England and in the IPL."
The clash at New Road, beginning on June 29, is the Proteas' only first-class match before their four-Test series against England gets under way the following week at Lord's.
Ballance - as well as Sam Robson, Keaton Jennings, Joe Clarke, Liam Livingstone and Tom Westley - could therefore enhance their respective cases for senior recognition with a strong showing against the tourists.
The four pace bowlers in the squad - George Garton, Saqib Mahmood, Jamie Overton and Tom Helm - will be rested from the championship's day-night round, beginning next Monday.
The seven batsmen and leg-spinner Mason Crane will be available for their counties for the first two days before reporting for Lions duty.
England Lions squad: G Ballance (captain), S Billings (wkt), J Clarke, M Crane, G Garton, T Helm, K Jennings, L Livingstone, S Mahmood, J Overton, S Robson, T Westley.
Source: PA
