DURHAM duo Mark Wood and Ben Stokes have been named in England's Test squad for the forthcoming series in the West Indies.

Wood has received his maiden international call-up after impressing on England Lions' recent tour of South Africa, while Stokes returns to the fold after controversially missing out on the squad for the recent World Cup.

That tournament proved a disaster as England crashed out at the group stage, and today's Test selection highlights a desire to move on with a more youthful group of players.

There is a strong Yorkshire element to the selection, with last year's county champions providing six players - Adam Lyth, who has received his first call up, Joe Root, Gary Ballance, Adil Rashid, Liam Plunkett and Jonny Bairstow.

Wood's selection is recognition for the huge strides the Ashington-born seamer has made in the last couple of seasons.

The 25-year-old made his first class debut in 2011 and has since taken 74 wickets at an average of just over 26. Injuries restricted him to just ten appearances in all competitions last season, but still managed to record five-wicket hauls against Somerset and Yorkshire.

Along with the rest of the Durham squad, Wood is currently in Dubai preparing for the new season but his call-up means that the Royal London One-Day Cup champions will be without his services at the start of the summer.

The three-match series between England and West Indies gets underway on April 13 in Antigua, with the first of two warm-up matches scheduled to take place seven days earlier.

Wood said: “I am delighted. Especially when I haven’t played that many games, it is good that people have seen something in me.

"The Lions tour was fantastic and couldn’t have gone any better for me. I managed to put a run of games together and put in the performances and that has obviously stood me in good stead."

Durham head coach Jon Lewis added: "Everyone at the club is thrilled for Mark. He's a great lad who has worked incredibly hard at his game, despite one or two setbacks with injuries.

"He caught the eye again out in South Africa and Kevin Shine (ECB Fast Bowling Coach) has kept tabs on him throughout the last few years.

"It's more good news for our academy because Mark is a local product who was given plenty of first-team opportunities at a young age."

Commenting on the squad, national selector James Whitaker said: “This series marks the start of a busy period of Test match cricket for the England team and I am sure that Alastair (Cook) and the players will all be keen to build on the success they enjoyed last summer against India.

“Jonathan Trott produced some outstanding performances for Warwickshire last summer scoring five centuries and also made an unbeaten double hundred during the recent successful England Lions tour. He is a player of proven international pedigree and we are delighted to welcome him back into the squad.

“Adam, Adil and Mark are all players who have performed impressively over the last 12 months and they will now have an opportunity to push for a regular place in the Test side’s starting line-up.”

England Test squad: Alastair Cook (Essex) captain, James Anderson (Lancashire), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Gary Balance (Yorkshire), Ian Bell (Warwickshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Chris Jordan (Sussex), Adam Lyth (Yorkshire), Liam Plunkett (Yorkshire), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Ben Stokes (Durham), James Tredwell (Kent), Jonathan Trott (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham).

England’s Tour Itinerary: April 6-7 - 2-day warm-up, St Kitts, April 8-9 - 2-day warm-up, St Kitts, April 13-17 - 1st Test SVRS, Antigua, April 21-25 - 2nd Test Grenada National Stadium, Grenada, May 1-5 - 3rd Test Kensington Oval, Barbados.