Spinner Patterson-White and batter Bethell named in England's test squad to tour South Africa

Mon, November 9, 2026 at 3:21 PM UTC

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LONDON (AP) — Spinner Liam Patterson-White earned his first test call-up for the three-test cricket series away to South Africa while Jacob Bethell is recalled following a knee injury.

England named its squad on Monday for what will be Stephen Fleming’s first series as head coach after Brendan McCullum was fired following a dismal Ashes defeat in Australia.

The 28-year-old Patterson-White is a left-arm finger spinner and took 42 wickets for Nottinghamshire in the top tier of the county championship this season, more than any other spinner, at an average of 25.11.

“I think Liam has performed very well in the last year or two,” England men’s selector Marcus North said, highlighting his ability to spin the ball away from right-handed batters.

He will form England's bowling unit along with swing specialist Ollie Robinson and pacers Josh Tongue, Jofra Archer and Gus Atkinson.

Veteran batting great Joe Root captains the side as he searches for his England record-extending 42nd test century and looks to close in on 15,000 runs. The 23-year-old Bethell scored a fine century in the fifth test of the Ashes last winter.

“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,” North said.

Pathway back for Carse, Bashir blow

Patterson-White was selected over Shoaib Bashir, who is named in the England Lions red-ball squad, while spin-bowling allrounder Rehan Ahmed goes into the Lions' white-ball squad.

Pacer Brydon Carse — who was dropped from the test side in August following a late-night incident — is in both of those squads along with experienced batter Ollie Pope, who lost his test place at No. 3 during the Ashes.

It was another blow to Bashir, who has 71 test wickets and was once a mainstay of the side under former captain Ben Stokes, who often pushed for his inclusion and backed him strongly.

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However, the 23-year-old was part of the Ashes tour and did not play a single test, with Stokes preferring to use the part-time spin of batter Will Jacks.

North insists Bashir remains a firm part of England's plans.

“We continue to be incredibly invested in Shoaib,” North said. “He is someone we do still have a very positive outlook on.”

But South Africa appears to have a clear edge in the spin department, with veteran Simon Harmer tormenting Australia with the trajectory and variety of his off-breaks. North added that Root — who has a decent return of 72 test wickets — and batter Dan Lawrence can provide additional spin options.

Carse toiled at times against aggressive Australian batting, but emerged with credit for bowling long shifts in the heat and for taking 22 wickets, albeit somewhat expensively.

Carse was dropped after images on social media showed him in police handcuffs outside a nightclub in Derby in late August, following a game with Stokes for their club side Durham.

Test schedule

The first test opens on Dec. 17 at Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, with the second test beginning Dec. 26 at Centurion Park in Centurion, and the potentially decisive third test at Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town starting Jan. 3.

Before the first test, Fleming's side plays a warm-up match against a Cricket South Africa (CSA) XI in Durban.

The Lions tour is from Nov. 26 to Dec. 21.

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