England axe Bell, call up Compton for South Africa Test series

Jamie Clark, Sports Editor | November 19, 2015

The luxury of England being in a position where they cannot lose their One Day International series against Pakistan has resulted in an interesting squad announcement for the winter Test tour of South Africa.

England's 16-man Test squad for the four-game series vs @OfficialCSA. More info here: https://t.co/VdJTmbkhln pic.twitter.com/qhgewYxwVA

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) November 19, 2015

For whom the Bell tolls

Long-serving batsman Ian Bell will not be going to the Southern Hemisphere with Coral’s 11/4 series chances England, but the ECB also stressed he hasn’t retired from Test cricket.

England selector James Whitaker said: “Ian Bell has been an outstanding player for many years and undoubtedly still has plenty to offer England in the future.

“It was clearly a difficult decision but he has struggled for runs in recent series, and we felt that it was the right time for him to take a break and spend time working on his game out of the spotlight.”

Bell himself took to Twitter, adding: “I’m absolutely gutted not to be selected for the tour to SA. I certainly feel I could have contributed out there and have been working tirelessly to get into the best possible condition.