YORKSHIRE Academy and Second XI director Ian Dews has backed Adam Lyth to star in Test cricket when his opportunity arises with England.

The White Rose opener travels to the Caribbean tomorrow ahead of the three-Test match series against West Indies, starting April 13, with five other county colleagues.

Gary Ballance and Joe Root seem certain to play in the first Test in Antigua, but Lyth, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Plunkett and Adil Rashid are not sure of their places.

Lyth, last summer’s leading run-scorer in the LV= County Championship’s Division One with 1,489, is in direct competition with Jonathan Trott to open the batting with captain Alastair Cook now that Sam Robson has been dropped.

The 27-year-old left-hander impressed opponent Cook with last week’s century against the MCC in Abu Dhabi – his eighth in the last 12 months of first-class cricket.

But Trott will get his opportunity to impress in one or two two-day warm-up matches in St Kitts after returning to the Test squad for the first time since November 2013 in Australia.

Dews has had a big influence on Lyth’s career, with the Whitby-born left-hander having played age-group cricket for the county before coming through their much envied Academy.

“I remember seeing Lythy playing Kwik Cricket at Scarborough,” said Dews.

“We had Kwik Cricket on the outfield at every county game, and he was there as an 11-year-old smacking it into the stand, thinking it was funny that he kept losing the ball.

“He hasn’t really changed since. He’s just carried on going.

“He takes a big step, then holds for a while, then he carries on. I think the penny’s dropped now. He’s a fine player who knows his game, which is key. Hopefully he will go on.

“To steal a Jason Gillespie term, runs are going to be his currency. If he keeps churning them out, he will continue to ask questions of the selectors.

“I’m sure, then, he will get an opportunity. When he does, I have every confidence that he will nail it.”