Joe Root to lead England in South Africa Tests; Shoaib Bashir and Ollie Pope omitted

England have announced a 15-man squad for their three-match Test series against South Africa, which will be part of the 2025-27 World Test Cup (WTC).The team will be captained by Joe Root, while Liam Patterson-White has received his first Test call-up after an impressive County Championship season in 2026.Patterson-White was the most successful spinner in the competition and earned a place in the squad. Jacob Bethell is also back after recovering from a knee injury.However, spinner Shoaib Bashir and batsman Ollie Pope were left out. Dan Lawrence returns as another batting option who can also contribute with the ball.

New faces and changes in the England squad

England’s pace attack includes Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Ollie Robinson, Sam Cook and Sonny Baker. Explaining the selection, national coach Marcus North said the team was prepared for a tough challenge against the reigning World Test champions.“We have selected a strong and balanced team that is ready to face the challenge of facing a South African team who are the ICC Test world champions and who returned to the top of the ICC Test rankings after their recent 2-1 series win over Australia,” North said.He also confirmed two changes to the squad that beat Pakistan 3-0 in the home summer series, with Patterson-White earning his first call-up and Bethell returning from injury.

WTC standings and series schedule

England are currently sixth in the WTC 2025-27 rankings with 38.64 percentage points, while South Africa are second with 71.43 percent.The series will begin in Johannesburg from 17 to 21 December.The second Test will be played in Centurion from December 26-30, while the final match is scheduled for Cape Town from January 3-7.The tour will follow England’s limited-overs series in Australia.England squad: Joe Root (c), 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