England name uncapped Patterson-White for South Africa Tests, Carse back with Lions

Squad for the South Africa Tests

England have named a 15-man squad for the three-Test series against South Africa, the reigning ICC Test world champions, which starts in Johannesburg on 17 December. It is the first series in charge for head coach Stephen Fleming, who succeeded Brendon McCullum, with Marcus Trescothick having held temporary charge during the Pakistan matches. Compared with the summer squad there are only two changes: Jacob Bethell returns from a knee injury that kept him out of the Pakistan Tests in September, and uncapped Nottinghamshire spinner Liam Patterson-White is named for the first time. Joe Root remains captain, and five players including Root will fly to South Africa on 2 December after the ODI series in Australia.

Patterson-White's call-up

Patterson-White, who turned 28 on Sunday, took 42 wickets at an average of 25.11 for Nottinghamshire, the most of any spinner in the County Championship this summer. He was handed a 12-month development deal when central contracts were announced last month. Shoaib Bashir, a fixture of England's Test squads since his debut in India in 2024, has been left out and will travel only with the Lions. Inews noted that none of the four spinners on the centrally contracted list, Bashir, Rehan Ahmed, Liam Dawson and Will Jacks, made the Test party.

North said England had enough options to back four quicks if no specialist spinner was picked, and he explained the balance with reference to the venues:

“Highveld tends to not spin as much, so it tends to be more favourable for the pace bowlers.”

Carse's route back

Brydon Carse, the 31-year-old Durham seamer with 14 Test appearances, was arrested and later de-arrested on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly in the early hours of 23 August, when officers attended an incident outside a Derby nightclub. Derbyshire Police have closed their investigation, but the Cricket Regulator has charged Carse over the matter and a verdict is still to come. He has kept playing for Durham and has remained available for England selection throughout. North said England judged that the demands of international cricket were not right for Carse during this period, and that conversations with Carse, managing director Rob Key and others at the ECB had led to the Lions as the route back.

“The past few months, under investigation, there has been a time where he has stood back, a time of reflection.”

Cover for Tongue and the Lions programme

Josh Tongue will miss the first Test for the birth of his second child and is due back for the second Test on Boxing Day. He is also out of England's one-day series in Australia with a toe problem and is due to see a specialist in Britain, so he could still feature in England's only warm-up match. North said one or two Lions players may be promoted into the senior group, and Carse is one of several seamers competing for that cover place, alongside Crocombe, Stone, Fisher, Jack, Potts and Stanley. The Lions prepare in Pietermaritzburg from 25 November and play a four-day match against South Africa A in Pretoria from 10 to 13 December. Bethell, Harry Brook and Jordan Cox leave Australia after the fourth T20 in Sydney on 29 November and fly directly to South Africa.