England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has announced the 17-member Test squad for the upcoming four-match away Test series against the hosts South Africa. The veteran English pacer and leading Test wicket-taker as a pacer, James Anderson has returned from the injury.
The no.3-ranked Test side England are currently struggling in Test cricket. After levelling the Ashes 2019 at home (by 2-2), where the defending title holders Australia retained the trophy, England recently suffered a 1-0 defeat in the two-match away Test series against the hosts New Zealand. Now, they will face the no.4-ranked Test side South Africa.
In the forthcoming England tour of South Africa 2019/20, England and South Africa will play the four-match Test series before the limited-overs series. Unlike the New Zealand tour, the upcoming Test series in South Africa will be the part of 2019-21 ICC World Test Championship. Here is the points distribution for this Test series.
| Matches in series | Points for a win | Points for a tie | Points for a draw | Points for a defeat |
| 4 | 30 | 15 | 10 | 0 |
England selectors dropped Saqib Mahmood
Talking about the latest team selection, only the right-arm pacer Saqib Mahmood has been dropped from the 16-member English Test squad of the last Test series in New Zealand.
The 37-year-old James Anderson has returned to the Test squad. After recovering from injury, Anderson featured in the first game of the Ashes 2019. However, after just bowling four overs in that game, he went off the field due to the calf injury. Since then, the right-arm pacer hasn’t played a cricket match yet. Now, he has returned to the national team.
Another right-arm fast bowler Mark Wood has also returned to the Test squad. All-rounder Moeen Ali is still unavailable for the national team selection.
England Test Squad for South Africa tour: Joe Root (c), James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonathan Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Jack Leach, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Dominic Sibley, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
Full multi-day games fixtures during England tour of South Africa 2019/20
(Tour matches)
17th-18th December 2019: Cricket South Africa Invitation XI vs England – Willowmoore Park (Benoni)
20th-22nd December 2019: South Africa A vs England – Willowmoore Park (Benoni)
(Four-match Test series)
26th-30th December 2019: 1st Test – SuperSport Park (Centurion)
3rd-7th January 2020: 2nd Test – Newlands Cricket Ground (Cape Town)
16th-20th January 2020: 3rd Test – St. George’s Park (Port Elizabeth)
24th-28th January 2020: 4th Test – Wanderers Stadium (Johannesburg)