Ballance, Compton and Fotitt included, Bell dropped for the South Africa series

Ballance, Compton and Fotitt included, Bell dropped for the South Africa series: England has announced a 16-man squad for the 4-match Test series against South Africa. The team will play two three-day games ahead of the first Test which starts in Durban on the Boxing Day.

Batsmen Nick Compton and Gary Ballance have been recalled to the squad while the seasoned campaigner Ian Bell has been dropped. Compton has 9 Test caps and last played for England in May 2013 while Ballance has played 15, last featured during the Ashes series earlier this year.

Two uncapped players at Test level have also been included in the squad; left-arm seamer Mark Footitt from Surrey, and Nottinghamshire batsman Alex Hales who was in the recent Test squad against Pakistan. The squad includes three players who were involved in England’s last tour of South Africa in 2009/10; Alastair Cook, James Anderson and Stuart Broad.

Injuries to pace bowlers Mark Wood (left ankle) and Steven Finn (left foot) ruled them out of this important series. Wood will undergo ankle surgery next week and Finn will continue his recovery from a bone stress injury.

As reported by the EBC, National selector, James Whitaker, said: “Playing the number one ranked Test side in the world in their home conditions will be a really exciting challenge for this squad and one I’m sure these players will relish. Ian Bell has been an outstanding player for many years and undoubtedly still has plenty to offer England in the future. It was clearly a difficult decision but he has struggled for runs in recent series and we felt that it was the right time for him to take a break and spend time working on his game out of the spotlight. The inclusion of Nick Compton and Gary Ballance alongside Alex Hales, Joe Root and James Taylor gives Trevor Bayliss and Alastair Cook plenty of options in the top order.”

With regards to Adil Rashid who bowled well against Pakistan he said, “Adil Rashid showed plenty of promise in the UAE but the conditions in South Africa make the likelihood of playing two spinners extremely remote. Although he would have been selected as a backup spinner we feel there is an excellent opportunity for him to spend some time developing his white ball skills in the lead up to the ICC World T20 in March. It is likely that Adil will travel to Australia to play for a Big Bash franchise.”

England will play 4 Tests, 5 ODIs and 2 T20Is against South Africa in what should be a fascinating series.

England Test Squad:

Alastair Cook (Capt.), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Gary Ballance, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Nick Compton, Mark Footitt, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Samit Patel, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, James Taylor, Chris Woakes

Test Schedule:

December 26-30: 1st Sunfoil Test match, Sahara Stadium Kingsmead, Durban.

January 2-6: 2nd Sunfoil Test match, Newlands, Cape Town

January 14-18: 3rd Sunfoil Test match, Bidvest Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

January 22-26: 4th Sunfoil Test match, SuperSport Park, Centurion