Jacob Bethell has returned to England’s Test squad for the three-match tour of South Africa after recovering from a knee injury. Uncapped left-arm spinner Liam Patterson-White has also been selected, while Shoaib Bashir is absent from the 15-player group.
Joe Root will captain England on the first assignment for incoming head coach Stephen Fleming.
A first call for Patterson-White
Patterson-White took 42 County Championship wickets at 25.11, the most by a spinner in Division One. Bashir and Ollie Pope instead feature in the England Lions red-ball squad.
Bethell’s return follows the knee injury he sustained during England’s ODI series against India.
Arrivals split around the Australia tour
Sam Cook, Emilio Gay, Dan Lawrence, Patterson-White, Ollie Robinson and Jamie Smith are due to join a preparation camp in Pietermaritzburg on November 25.
Other players will travel after their white-ball commitments in Australia. England are scheduled to play a warm-up against a CSA XI in Durban from December 9–11 before the Test series begins on December 17.