England have named their squad for the three-Test series against world champions South Africa that starts in Johannesburg on 17 December.
It will be the first series in charge for new head coach Stephen Fleming and while the first XI is largely settled there are still a few surprises in the 15-man party.
Liam Patterson-White pick is watershed moment
England named four potential Test spinners on their list of centrally contracted players last month: Shoaib Bashir, Rehan Ahmed, Liam Dawson and Will Jacks. None of them are in this squad.
Instead, they have opted for the uncapped Nottinghamshire slow left-arm bowler Liam Patterson-White. The 28-year-od’s 42 wickets at an average of 25.11 made him the leading spinner in the County Championship last summer. But his selection raises serious doubts over the Test futures of the four players mentioned earlier, not to mention Jack Leach, whose international career now looks over.
Marcus North, England’s national selector, cited Patterson-White’s consistency and ability to hold up an end. Still, to pick someone so inexperienced is odd given the impact South Africa’s Simon Harmer had on the recent series win against Australia.
While two of England’s Tests are at seam-friendly venues on the Highveld, the series finale – and potential decider – is at Cape Town, where Harmer’s 10 wickets were decisive against Australia. So overlooking an experienced spin option could prove costly.
England men’s squad for Test series vs South Africa
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 TongueJacob Bethell is back – but does he play?
Having missed the second half of last summer with a knee injury, the man who made himself England’s undisputed No 3 with an Ashes century in Sydney back in January returns. Yet it’s still not certain whether he actually plays in South Africa.
Opener Emilio Gay has been named in the squad and it will be hard to drop Jordan Cox, who filled in brilliantly at first drop in England’s last series against Pakistan.
North admits: “Coming into this series it’s fair to say we’re not walking in with a locked-in six.” That still leaves open the possibility of Bethell coming back into the XI as an opener in place of Gay, slotting back into No 3 for Cox or being left out altogether. The second option is most likely.
Show of faith in Sam Cook
The Essex seamer is ostensibly in this squad as cover for Ollie Robinson, England’s player of last summer who comprehensively rebutted the theory posited by England’s director of cricket Rob Key that there was no place on the international stage for medium-pacers.
Cook’s only Test against Zimbabwe at the start of the 2025 summer went badly. But his track record at county level means he is in this squad on merit ahead of Matt Fisher, Henry Crocombe and Matthew Potts.
Sonny Baker’s rise continues
The 23-year-old fast bowler is the back-up for fellow quicks Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue. He’s only played one Test – against New Zealand at The Oval last summer, where he took three expensive wickets. That is likely to change in South Africa after North confirmed that Tongue will miss the first Test for the birth of his second child.
"Beauty from Sonny Baker!"What a start for England pic.twitter.com/wLQ9R6J2pv
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) September 27, 2026Tongue might not even be fit to play after that either, given he is coming back from a toe injury that ruled him out of the upcoming white-ball tour of Australia. So this series represents a big opportunity for Baker.
Sam Curran out
One eye-catching omission is Curran, the all-rounder who was talked up by North at the back end of the summer. The left-armer had a tough time during England’s recent tri-series in Pakistan.
But North confirmed he was unavailable for this South Africa tour because he is getting married and wants to spend time at home.
He will, said North, come back into consideration for the two-Test series in Bangladesh in February and the one-off 150th anniversary Test in Australia the following month. But it still looks hard for him to force his way in even when he is actually available again.
Brydon Carse is back in the fold
England also named a Lions squad that will shadow the main group in South Africa – and under-fire fast bowler Brydon Carse is in it.
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Told by white-ball coach Brendon McCullum to get his “house in order” at the end of the summer, Carse is now back and could in theory play in the Test series too.
North admitted Tongue’s absence for the first Test means “one or two” Lions players will likely be brought into the main squad for that match at the Wanderers. Of those Lions who would best cover for Tongue, Carse and Olly Stone look the likeliest.
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