YORKSHIRE have got a magnificent seven players in the provisional England Lions touring party for their New Year trip to South Africa, where they will play a mixture of first-class and one-day cricket.

The White Rose’s reputation as English cricket’s strongest county has only been enhanced by the inclusion of Jonny Bairstow, Gary Ballance, Jack Brooks, Alex Lees, Adam Lyth, Adil Rashid and Liam Plunkett for a five-week tour from early January.

The England selectors have named two squads for the first-class and the one-day matches, with the county’s seven all picked in both.

An ECB media release, however, has pointed out that the final squads will only be confirmed, including captains, in December once England’s one-day World Cup squad for their campaign in Australia and New Zealand in February and March has been finalised.

The selections cap off an exceptional year for Yorkshire, who were crowned county champions last month.

“I don’t know whether this kind of percentage has happened before, but it must be fairly unique I would have thought,” said the county’s director of cricket Martyn Moxon.

“It’s fantastic for the players and the club to get such recognition. We’re all delighted for the lads, and hopefully they can have a good tour.

“Their selections in both squads show they are all-round cricketers and not just one dimensional players.

“We were expecting that we’d have a number of lads involved in England squads this winter, so we’ve had it in our minds that we’d have to work hard with the younger players and get them up to speed if required next season if there are any gaps that appear due to call-ups.

“Our winter will be about working with the next generation and trying to get them ready as soon as possible.”

The majority of the seven named are expected to be called upon for England’s full three-Test series in the West Indies from April 13 to May 5, clashing with the start of the English domestic season.

Ballance is a certainty for the Caribbean, while Bairstow, Lyth, Plunkett and Rashid are likely tourists.

For Brooks and Lees, they will hope to impress in the three-day match against a South African Invitational XI and two four-day and five one-day matches against South Africa A between January 5 and February 5 in order to make a late bid for selection.

“A lot will depend on that Lions tour, but as we sit now we can realistically expect six of our lads to be involved in the West Indies, including Joe Root,” said Moxon.

“Root and Ballance are pretty much certain, Plunkett too you would think. Then you’ve got Bairstow as reserve wicketkeeper and if Rashid keeps bowling the way he did during the summer, he should go as second spinner. At least one of the openers has got a very good chance.”

The other notable inclusion is Warwickshire’s Jonathan Trott in the first-class squad. Trott enjoyed an impressive end to the county campaign, but he has not played international cricket since returning home from last winter’s Ashes series in Australia with a stress related illness.

The tour coach will be Sussex’s Mark Robinson, the former Yorkshire seamer. Andy Flower is also expected to be involved, while ex-Durham seamer Ottis Gibson will coach on the ECB’s Performance Programme fast bowling camp in South Africa before Christmas. Brooks and Plunkett are involved in that.

Lions first-class squad: Bairstow, Ballance, Billings, Brooks, Lees, Lyth, C Overton, Plunkett, Rankin, Rashid, Riley, Robson, Trott, Vince.

Lions one-day squad: Bairstow, Ballance, Billings, Brooks, Lees, Lyth, C Overton, Parry, S Patel, Plunkett, Rankin, Rashid, Roy, Vince.