JONATHAN TROTT was selected yesterday for England Lions’ tour of South Africa, marking the first step in a possible full international comeback since stress ended his Ashes tournament last November.

The 33-year-old batsman has not featured for England since and an aborted return to county cricket with Warwickshire in April raised major doubts about his future.

But after a second attempt he finished the season in good form, persuading the England and Wales Cricket Board to put him back on the road to international duty, giving him a place in the provisional 14-man squad for January’s first-class matches.

The Lions is generally viewed as the picking ground for the senior squad when places become available.

He has not been kept on for the five one-day matches that follow, suggesting he is now seen primarily as a candidate for the test squad despite impressive limited-overs form at the tail end of the campaign.

ECB national selector James Whitaker said Trott’s “exceptional form and run-scoring exploits for Warwickshire” had earned him his stripes.

Middlesex batsman Sam Robson, who opened the batting in all seven test matches this summer, will join Trott in the first-class squad — indicating his inconsistent form at the top of the order has left questions still to answer.

And there is also a call-up for 22-year-old Kent off-spinner Adam Riley, tipped by many to emerge as the likeliest long-term heir to Graeme Swann’s mantle.

Trott, Robson and Riley will be replaced by Lancashire spinner Stephen Parry, Nottinghamshire all-rounder Samit Patel and explosive Surrey batsman Jason Roy for the one-day leg.

Explaining the the balance between tried-and-tested internationals and younger prospects, Whitaker added: “We believe that the 17 players provisionally included across the two Lions squads for the tour to South Africa in the new year incorporates an excellent mix of international experience alongside fresh young talent.

“For the likes of Sam Billings, Craig Overton and Adam Riley to be playing alongside Sam Robson, Gary Ballance and Jonny Bairstow in a Lions tour is an exciting prospect for the future of English cricket, and I am certain that all of the players will learn a great deal from the experience.”