England announce squad for three-Test tour of South Africa

London: Spinner Liam Patterson-White earned his maiden Test call-up for England’s three-Test series in South Africa, while Jacob Bethell was recalled following a knee injury.

England named its squad on Monday for what will be Stephen Fleming’s first series as head coach, after Brendan McCullum was fired following a disappointing Ashes defeat in Australia.

The 28-year-old Patterson-White is a left-arm finger spinner who took 42 wickets for Nottinghamshire in the top tier of the County Championship this season, more than any other spinner, at an average of 25.11. He will form part of England’s bowling attack alongside swing specialist Ollie Robinson and pacers Josh Tongue, Jofra Archer and Gus Atkinson.

Veteran batting great Joe Root will captain the side as he looks to extend his England record with a 42nd Test century and close in on 15,000 runs. The 23-year-old Bethell scored a fine century in the fifth Test of the Ashes last winter.

“We have selected a strong and balanced squad that is ready for the challenge of facing a South African team that are ICC Test world champions and who returned to the top of the ICC Test rankings following their recent 2-1 series win over Australia,” England men’s selector Marcus North said.

Patterson-White was selected ahead of Shoaib Bashir, who has been named in the England Lions’ red-ball squad, while spin-bowling all-rounder Rehan Ahmed has been included in the Lions’ white-ball squad.

Pacer Brydon Carse, who was dropped from the Test side in August following a late-night incident, is included in both those squads, along with experienced batter Ollie Pope, who lost his Test place at No. 3 during the Ashes.

The first Test begins on December 17 at Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, with the second starting on December 26 at Centurion Park in Centurion. The potentially decisive third Test is scheduled to begin on January 3 at Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town.

Before the first Test, Fleming’s side will play a warm-up match against a Cricket South Africa (CSA) XI in Durban.

The Lions’ tour will run from November 26 to December 21.

“We have also selected a strong England Lions squad,” North said. “Those players will benefit from experiencing South African conditions and ensure we have players who are fit and ready should they be required for the Test series.”