England Under-19s manager John Abrahams is not surprised by Joe Root’s glorious start to his Ashes career, describing the Yorkshire batsman as “made for Test cricket”.

The former Lancashire captain also expects York-based ace Jonny Bairstow to shine in his role in England’s middle order.

The White Rose duo are preparing for the third Test at Emirates Old Trafford, Abrahams’ former stomping ground, which starts tomorrow.

And with England 2-0 up in a five-match series and Australia on their knees, there is every chance they could be celebrating their first Ashes series win come Monday.

Root heads into the clash on the back of a stunning second-innings 180 at Lord’s, while Bairstow added 67 in the first innings. Despite being England’s third leading run-scorer in the series with 139 from two matches behind Root and Ian Bell, Bairstow is the batsman most under pressure.

Root, aged 22, played 26 times for the U19s, including a World Cup campaign in New Zealand in early 2010.

Bairstow, on the other hand, did not play for the U19s because of a clash with county commitments. The 23-year-old instead moved straight through to the Lions and then full honours at the end of 2011.

“The only thing that has surprised me about Joe is that he’s done it a little bit sooner than people anticipated,” said Abrahams. “He’s been given the opportunity that he perhaps thought wouldn’t come as soon.

“When he was with the U19s, you get players who are part of the U19s system and you know that they’re going to play (Test cricket).

“The way he played for us, even though we play a fair amount of one-day cricket and he was involved with that, you could tell he was made for Test match cricket.

“It was just his whole attitude, his approach to his game and the game itself.

“His worth ethic and the skills he had already were very impressive. It’s not a surprise at all, but perhaps opportunities have come a little bit sooner.

“Jonny, when he was potentially part of our programme, didn’t really come to the fore as much as somebody like Joe did.

“We did select him for the U19s, but around the same time Yorkshire did for their first XI, and they had priority over his selection.

“He’s a quality player. He’s slightly different to Joe in that he’s more aggressive and attacking than Joe. Playing for England at five or six probably suits him, and I expect him to be around for a long time as well.”

The pair’s agent is another former Lancashire player, Neil Fairbrother, who is sure the Old Trafford crowd will get behind the three Yorkshire players this week, including Tim Bresnan.

“We are all northerners together,” he said before praising Root’s development.

“In eight months the public have gone from ‘who is Joe Root?’ to him opening the batting with Alastair Cook and scoring 180 in an Ashes Test at Lord’s.

“He has had an unbelievable time, and is obviously a great talent.”