England axe Bell for South Africa tour

England have dropped veteran batsman Ian Bell for the four-Test tour of South Africa, starting December 26 in Durban.

Bell, who has played 118 Tests for England since debuting against the West Indies in August 2004, hasn't scored a century in 12 matches and averaged only 20 during that period.

He is England's third most capped player and eighth highest run-scorer.

The 33-year-old has been replaced by Nick Compton and Gary Ballance in the 16-man squad, the former having not played for England since he was axed in March 2013, while Ballance was sacked after two Ashes Tests this winter.

"Playing the number one ranked Test side in the world in their home conditions will be a really exciting challenge for this squad and one I’m sure these players will relish," England and Wales Cricket Board 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.

"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."

Compton, who scored two centuries from nine Tests in 2012-13, scored 1123 in county cricket this year, including three centuries.

Compton is one of seven players England have tried as an opener alongside Alastair Cook since Andrew Strauss retired in 2012, along with Joe Root, Michael Carberry, Sam Robson, Jonathan Trott, Adam Lyth and most recently Moeen Ali. 

Hard-hitting opener Hales and left-arm quick Mark Footitt are the only two uncapped players in the squad, which includes five fast bowlers.

Joining Foottit are speedsters James Anderson, Stuart Broad and recalled pair Chris Woakes and Chris Jordan.

Injured pair Mark Wood (ankle) and Steven Finn (foot) were not considered for selection.

Samit Patel is the second spinner in the squad alongside off-spinning allrounder Moeen, leaving Yorkshire leg-spinner Adil Rashid to potentially play in the KFC Big Bash League this summer.

"Adil Rashid showed plenty of promise in the UAE but the conditions in South Africa make the likelihood of playing two spinners extremely remote," Whitaker said.

"Although he would have been selected as a back-up spinner we feel there is 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.

"It is likely that Adil will travel to Australia to play for a Big Bash franchise."

England arrive in South Africa on December 11 and are due to play four Test matches, five one-day internationals and two Twenty20 internationals between late December and late February.

England Test squad to tour South Africa
Alastair Cook (c), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Gary Ballance, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Nick Compton, Mark Footitt, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Samit Patel, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, James Taylor, Chris Woakes