Adam Lyth has spoken of his pride at being handed the 12th man duties for England on the first day of the Ashes series last month.

The Yorkshire opening batsman was asked to carry the drinks at the Gabba in Brisbane as Andrew Strauss’s men opened their defence of the little urn.

The 23-year-old left-hander has recently returned to freezing Britain after spending a month Down Under on a training camp with the ECB Performance Programme squad.

White Rose colleague Jonny Bairstow also undertook similar duties on the second day of the same Test match, which finished in a draw.

Lyth said: “The first day at the Gabba, to be standing next to Graham Gooch singing our national anthem was a very special moment for me.

“The whole day was a fantastic experience for me, and something that I will never forget.

“I got welcomed into the dressing room, which was nice. It’s fantastic to see how those guys train and go about their business.

“There were things that I learnt and will be able to take into my own game.”

Running parallel to the Test was a Performance Programme four-day friendly against a Queensland XI at the nearby Allan Border Field in Brisbane, with both teams allowed to sub players in and out of the match.

Lyth, who finished the English domestic season as the leading run-scorer in the LV= County Championship Division One with an impressive 1,509 runs, entered the fray late and scored a century.

Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale was the third Tyke on the trip – and he was pleased to see his two players get that chance.

“With my Yorkshire captain’s hat on, it was definitely a good opportunity for them to have a taste of it,” he said.

“I’ve be 12th man a few times in England, and it’s definitely beneficial to your own game to get an idea of what the guys at the top of our game have to do in terms of their preparation.

“I know they both benefited from the experience enormously. They both came back from the experience buzzing.”

All three Yorkshire players have been selected for the England Lions tour of the West Indies, starting on January 24.

Adil Rashid will link up with the squad in February after his stint as South Australia’s overseas player in the KFC Big Bash Twenty20 competition.