England Test squad to tour South Africa: Nick Compton IN, Ian Bell OUT
Nick Compton has been recalled to the England squad for the forthcoming Test series in South Africa - but Ian Bell has been dropped.
Middlesex batsman Compton has played nine Tests, but has been out of the fold since 2013.
After Moeen Ali’s failure to capitalise on his chance as Alastair Cook’s partner in the UAE against Pakistan, however, the 32-year-old is set to be given another opportunity to stake his claim.
He is likely to battle with Alex Hales for the second opener’s berth alongside captain Cook.
Bell, meanwhile, has been left out following his poor form against Pakistan and there will now be question marks over whether that signals the end of his Test career.
His omission comes in the wake of a series of below-par performances from the 33-year-old, who has scored just one Test century since July 2014.
National 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."
Yorkshire batsman Gary Ballance has also been recalled after he was dropped during the Ashes against Australia last summer.
Adil Rashid misses out on selection and will be allowed to play in Australia's Big Bash and "develop his white ball skills", Whitaker said.
He added: "The inclusion of Nick Compton and Gary Ballance alongside Alex Hales, Joe Root and James Taylor gives Trevor Bayliss and Alastair Cook plenty of options in the top order.
"Adil Rashid showed plenty of promise in the UAE, but with the conditions in South Africa making the likelihood of playing two spinners extremely remote, he misses out.
"We feel this provides an excellent opportunity for him to spend some time developing his white ball skills in the lead up to the ICC World T20 in March, and it is likely that Adil will travel to Australia to play for a Big Bash franchise. "
England Test squad to tour South Afrcia: Alastair Cook (captain), Alex Hales, Nick Compton, Joe Root, James Taylor, Gary Ballance, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Samit Patel, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Mark Footit.