England have dropped spinner Shoaib Bashir from their Test squad for the three-match series in South Africa, with Jacob Bethell returning from injury and uncapped all-rounder Liam Patterson-White earning a maiden call-up.

The England and Wales Cricket Board announced the 15-member squad on Monday. It is the first squad selected under new Test head coach Stephen Fleming, with Joe Root captaining the side for a series that begins at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on 17 December.

Bashir, 23, made his Test debut against India in Visakhapatnam in February 2024 and has taken 71 wickets in 21 Tests. He did not feature in any of the three Tests against Pakistan in August and September 2026, and has now lost his place in the senior squad altogether.

Patterson-White leapfrogs Bashir

Patterson-White, the Nottinghamshire left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder, has been picked ahead of Bashir and Rehan Ahmed in the selection pecking order. England have not named a specialist spinner in the squad, with part-time options including Root, Dan Lawrence and Bethell expected to share the spin duties.

National selector Marcus North said Patterson-White’s selection followed a strong summer in the Rothesay County Championship. “Liam Patterson-White’s selection comes on the back of a strong summer in the Rothesay County Championship, when he took the most wickets of any spinner in Division One with 42 at an average of 25.11 and earned his first ECB development contract,” North said.

The ECB had already rewarded Patterson-White with a development contract last month, a clear signal that a full squad call-up was close.

Bethell returns after knee injury

Bethell is back after missing the 3-0 home series win over Pakistan because of a knee problem that required surgery. The left-handed batter adds to England’s batting options for a tour that also includes the Boxing Day Test at Centurion and a final Test in Cape Town from 3 January.

Harry Brook, Bethell and Jordan Cox will leave the tour of Australia after the fourth T20 international in Sydney on 29 November and fly directly to South Africa to join the Test squad.

Ollie Pope also misses out, having been part of the squad for the third Test against Pakistan. North said there were two changes to the side that beat Pakistan 3-0, with Patterson-White’s debut call-up and Bethell’s return the only alterations.

Bashir named in Lions squad

Bashir will instead travel with the England Lions, who have named an 18-member red-ball squad for a parallel tour. He is joined there by Brydon Carse, with North leaving the door open for Carse to force his way back into the senior side.

“We will continue to be incredibly invested in Shoaib over the winter,” North said of Bashir’s omission, underlining that the spinner remains part of England’s plans despite dropping out of the Test squad.

England Test squad for 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 Tongue.

The first Test runs from 17 to 21 December in Johannesburg, the second is the Boxing Day Test at Centurion, and the series concludes in Cape Town from 3 to 7 January 2027.