England selectors have announced a 15-player squad for the upcoming Test series away to South Africa, with Nottinghamshire all-rounder Liam Patterson-White earning a maiden call-up.

The three-match series against the Proteas – a first Test visit to these shores since 2019/20 – begins on December 17th and will be Stephen Fleming’s first assignment as England’s Test head coach.

England men’s national selector, Marcus North, said: “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.

“We have also selected a strong England Lions squad, who will fly out to South Africa on November 25 for a preparation camp before three 50-over matches and two first-class games.

“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.”

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Bethell returns

Jacob Bethell is back in the Test fold following knee surgery to add to the batting options, in place of Ollie Pope in one of two changes made to the most recent squad.

It remains to be seen if Bethell will be immediately reinstated after Jordan Cox impressed deputising at No.3, scoring half-centuries in each of the three victories over Pakistan.

Dan Lawrence’s similarly passed fifty in the middle order on three occasions during that series, meaning Bethell’s route back into the side could be at the top of the order alongside Ben Duckett, as he did on his last England outing in the ODI series against India in July, should they opt to omit newcomer Emilio Gay.

Bethell’s return from injury will force “difficult decisions”, according to North, who admitted: “We don’t have a locked-in (top) six.”

Patterson-White called-up

Meanwhile, left-arm spinner Liam Patterson-White is in the frame for a Test debut after the 28-year-old was selected at the expense of Shoaib Bashir.

Part-timer Lawrence was deployed as chief spinner against Pakistan in order for England to name four seamers, though the recent South Africa-Australia series hinted spin could play a more decisive role.

“Liam Patterson-White’s selection comes on the back of a strong summer in the Rothesay County Championship, when he took the most wickets of any spinner in Division One with 42 at an average of 25.11 and earned his first ECB Development Contract,” said North.

Pope and Bashir will both have the opportunity to feature for the Lions instead, with North confirming England remain “incredibly invested” in the Derbyshire spinner.

It was also announced that bowler Josh Tongue – who was recently ruled out of the Australia white-ball series with a toe injury – is set to miss the first Test in Johannesburg due to the birth of his second child.

Carse makes comeback in strong Lions squad

With Tongue unavailable, England are expected to draft in cover from the Lions squad which could open the door for Brydon Carse to return.

Carse has not been selected at international level since he was handcuffed outside a Derby nightclub in August.

It led to the seamer being dropped from the squad for the second Test against Pakistan with red-ball captain Joe Root admitting the incident left him “hacked off”, while white-ball counterpart Harry Brook acknowledged the Durham man required “time away”.

Even though no charges were brought against Carse by Derbyshire Police following an investigation into an alleged assault, the cricket regulator deemed the 31-year-old had breached the ECB’s professional conduct regulations.

However, Carse will travel out to South Africa later this month after being named in both the Lions red-ball and white-ball squads.

A fresh start?

“It’s obviously been a challenging time for Brydon and it’s one we probably haven’t at times felt the demands of playing international cricket and what he was dealing with was necessarily right for Brydon or us,” North stated.

“There has been several conversations between us, myself, Rob Key and other people at the ECB with Brydon over this period and the conclusion is we feel he is in a place where we can introduce him back into an England environment.”

Carse joins a strong contingent of pace bowlers which includes Carse’s county teammate Matthew Potts, Surrey duo Henry Crocombe and Matthew Fisher, and Notts’ Olly Stone – all of whom hoping to stake their claim for Test selection.

“This is where I feel using the Lions tour to our advantage – we have a very strong bowling group in that Lions programme,” North added. 

“That enables us to have a look at where they are at, under competition and training.”

A busy schedule

England Lions are currently in the Caribbean on a white-ball tour, before they fly out to South Africa on November 25th.

That group will be joined for a preparation camp by the six members of the Test squad who are not involved in the upcoming white-ball series in Australia – Sam Cook, Gay, Lawrence, Patterson-White, Ollie Robinson and Jamie Smith.

Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker, Duckett and Root will return home immediately after the ODI series.

They will then depart for South Africa on December 2nd.

Brook, Bethell and Cox will fly directly to South Africa after the fourth T20I in Sydney on November, meaning Will Jacks will lead the side for the final match of that series in Canberra.

Sam Curran was not available for the Test series due to his upcoming wedding, but North confirmed he would “come into consideration” for the Bangladesh tour in February.

Full squad news

England Test Squad: Joe Root (captain), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Sam Cook, Jordan Cox, Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Dan Lawrence, Liam Patterson-White, Ollie Robinson, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue.

Lions Red-Ball Squad: Shoaib Bashir, Brydon Carse, James Coles, Mason Crane, Henry Crocombe, Matthew Fisher, Jack Haynes, George Hill, Eddie Jack, Ben Mayes, Ben McKinney, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, James Rew, Thomas Rew, Mitch Stanley, Olly Stone, Asa Tribe.

Lions 50-Over Squad: Rehan Ahmed, Brydon Carse, Mason Crane, Adam Finch, Matthew Fisher, Calvin Harrison, Jack Haynes, George Hill, Ben Mayes, Ben McKinney, Ollie Pope, James Rew, Naavya Sharma, Ekansh Singh, Asa Tribe.

England Men’s Test tour of South Africa

Warm-up match vs CSA XI: December 9-11, Durban

First Test: December 17-21, Johannesburg

Second Test: December 26-30, Centurion

Third Test: January 3-7, Cape Town

England Lions tour of South Africa (all matches vs South Africa A)

First 50-over match: December 1, Pietemaritzburg

Second 50-over match: December 4, Paarl

Third 50-over match: December 6, Paarl

First four-day match: December 10-13, Pretoria

Second four-day match: December 18-21, Benoni