England's Bairstow ready for family double

Jonathan Bairstow knows that should he make his Test debut against the West Indies later this week it will be a particularly significant occasion for his family.

But the 22-year-old Yorkshireman has vowed to treat the game as much like any other as he can if he make it into England's final XI for the first of a three-match series against the West Indies at Lord's starting on Thursday.

If selected it would mean Bairstow and his late father David had become just the 13th such pairing in England's history to both play Test cricket.

David Bairstow, who played four Tests between 1979 and 1981, committed suicide in 1998 when Jonathan was aged just eight.

A Yorkshire wicket-keeper batsman, like his father before him, Bairstow junior has already played limited overs international cricket for England, where he has demonstrated a liking for the big stage.

And he is determined not to be overawed if called upon to make a Test debut.

"(It will be) the same as every other day -- there is a guy at the other end with a ball in his hand, and you've got to face it," Bairstow said.

"It will be a proud moment if selected, and my family will be very proud.

"But at end of day it is another game of cricket . You can't do anything but face the ball the other guy is going to bowl at you. If the ball is there to be hit then it has to be hit, or defend and leave it."

However, he added, "Playing for England is a massive ambition, and something I grew up as a boy dreaming of doing.

"Obviously doing it here at Lord's, the home of cricket, is something that is special - to say the least.

"My dad played for England, so to do it as well will be a fantastic achievement and a proud day for my family."

Bairstow, who played a man-of-the-match innings on his international debut in a 50-over fixture against India in Cardiff in September, is set to feature as a batsman only if selected on Thursday, with Matt Prior still very much England's first choice wicketkeeper and, according to official statistics, the world's best gloveman.

"I am enjoying my keeping, but at the moment the world's number one keeper is keeping in the Test side," Bairstow said.

"He is doing fantastically well, so I am pleased to get call as a batsman."

As a batsman Bairstow - who followed two hundreds for Yorkshire already this year with a fifty for England Lions against the West Indies at Northampton last week - has a reputation for making runs when most needed.

"It is a good attribute to have," he said.

"You don't want someone that cries off when the chips are down.

"It is good to have the willpower and want to dig a team out of a situation. It is something that comes naturally to me."