England Names New Coach's First Squad for South Africa Tour
Stephen Fleming debuts as head coach with a balanced lineup featuring first-time call-up Liam Patterson-White and recalled batter Jacob Bethell.
By Naomi Tesfaye ·
England cricket has named its squad for a three-test series in South Africa, marking the first campaign under new head coach Stephen Fleming. The selection follows the dismissal of Brendan McCullum after a heavy loss in the Ashes in Australia.
Left-arm spinner Liam Patterson-White, 28, earns his first test call-up. He led all spinners in the county championship this season with 42 wickets for Nottinghamshire at an average of 25.11. He joins a bowling unit that includes swing specialist Ollie Robinson and pacers Josh Tongue, Jofra Archer, and Gus Atkinson.
Batter Jacob Bethell, 23, returns to the side after a knee injury. Bethell scored a century in the fifth test of the Ashes last winter. Veteran captain Joe Root leads the lineup as he seeks his 42nd test century and approaches a career total of 15,000 runs.
Selector Marcus North described the group as strong and balanced, noting the challenge posed by the ICC test world champions. South Africa returned to the top of the ICC test rankings after defeating Australia by 2-1 in their recent series.
Patterson-White was chosen over Shoaib Bashir, who was placed in the England Lions red-ball squad. Spin-bowling allrounder Rehan Ahmed was assigned to the Lions white-ball squad. Pacer Brydon Carse, dropped from the test side in August after a late-night incident, is included in both Lions squads.
Experienced batter Ollie Pope also features in the Lions teams after losing his test spot at No. 3 during the Ashes. North stated that the Lions players will gain experience with South African conditions and remain ready to replace test players if needed. The Lions tour runs from Nov. 26 to Dec. 21.
The test series begins on Dec. 17 at Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. The second test starts Dec. 26 at Centurion Park in Centurion. The third test is scheduled for Jan. 3 at Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town. England will play a warm-up match against a Cricket South Africa XI in Durban before the first test.
