Moeen Ali remains absent from 17-man party to tour South Africa
Saturday 7 December 2019 12:56, UK
James Anderson, Mark Wood and Jonny Bairstow have returned to England's 17-man squad for the four-Test tour of South Africa - but Moeen Ali remains unavailable.
Seamer Anderson has not featured in a first-class game since he broke down with a calf injury after bowling four overs in the first Ashes Test against Australia at Edgbaston in August.
But England's all-time leading Test wicket-taker is currently in South Africa on a fast-bowling camp as he looks to prove his fitness ahead of the first Test against the Proteas from Boxing Day.
Wood - who has not played since the World Cup final at Lord's after battling a side strain and undergoing knee surgery - is continuing his comeback alongside Anderson in Cape Town.
The Durham quick played the last of his 13 Tests against West Indies in February when he claimed his maiden five-wicket haul and will now be hoping to return to the side against South Africa.
Anderson and Wood's returns means Lancashire paceman Saqib Mahmood - an unused member of the Test squad in New Zealand - drops out.
"With James Anderson and Mark Wood returning to the squad, Saqib Mahmood is the unfortunate player to miss out," said England national selector Ed Smith.
"It is not predicted that Mark will be available for selection for the earliest matches. However, he will travel with the team and continue his rehab work with the medical staff on tour.
"There is no exact date given for his return, but the medical team is working towards him becoming fully available for selection during the tour.
"With that in mind, and given the extended period that James and Mark have had on the sidelines due to injury, it was sensible to have a 17-man squad."
Wicketkeeper-batsman Bairstow has tagged along with Anderson and Wood at the training camp and he, too, has been recalled to the England Test squad having been left out of the 1-0 series defeat in New Zealand after struggling for form during The Ashes.
Bairstow averaged just 23.77 against Australia after managing one fifty in 10 innings, while he averages 24.23 in Tests since the start of the 2018 summer having notched one century in 17 games.
The 30-year-old could play as a specialist batsman against South Africa but could also fill in with the gloves if anything should happen to first-choice wicketkeeper Jos Buttler.
Smith also said that off-spinner Moeen, who requested a break from Test cricket following The Ashes, "remains unavailable for Test selection", so Jack Leach and Matt Parkinson retain their places.
England will play South Africa in Centurion from Boxing Day, before further Tests in Cape Town (January 3), Port Elizabeth (January 16) and Johannesburg (January 24), with the series forming part of the inaugural World Test Championship.
The tourists will play a two-day warm-up game against a South Africa Invitational XI in Benoni on December 17 and 18, before a three-day fixture against South Africa A at the same venue between December 20 and 22.
England, then captained by Sir Alastair Cook, won 2-1 in South Africa in 2016, while they beat the Proteas 3-1 in England in 2017 in current skipper Joe Root's first series as captain.
England Test squad: Joe Root (captain), James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Zak Crawley, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Jack Leach, Matt Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
Watch England's tour of South Africa live on Sky Sports Cricket. Coverage of the first Test, in Centurion, gets under way from 7am on Boxing Day.
