Proteas name unchanged squad for England tour

South Africa retained the squad that beat New Zealand a couple of months back for the upcoming tour of England next month.

On Wednesday, Cricket South Africa (CSA) selectors named the unchanged group for the three-match series that starts at The Oval in London on July 19.

England and South Africa are ranked number 1 and 2 in the latest ICC Test rankings list announced this week at the conclusion of England's series against the West Indies.

"The players fully deserve a vote of confidence after the outstanding manner in which they outplayed New Zealand away from home," said CSA selection convener, Andrew Hudson.

"We are now building up excellent depth in both the batting and bowling departments. This was highlighted by JP Duminy's century when he was called up at the 11th hour as a replacement for Jacques Kallis."

Hudson also said that the Proteas' fast bowlers are one of the best in the world at the moment.

"I believe most other countries would be very happy to have the fast bowling resources we have at the moment.

"Marchant de Lange has been most impressive since his outstanding debut against Sri Lanka, while Lonwabo Tsotsobe gives us a left-arm option. Consistency has been one of the key pillars of our selection policy and this is also contributing to our success on the field," he said.

Hudson said that AB de Villiers would be the reserve wicketkeeper for the Test series.

Captain Graeme Smith has made a complete recovery from his out-of-season operation and has already had two throw-down sessions with national coach Gary Kirsten.

"Graeme has been outstanding both as our leading runs scorer and as captain during our last two Test tours of England and I have confidence he will continue that form."

The squad: Graeme Smith (Captain), Hashim Amla, Mark Boucher, Marchant de Lange, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, Jacques Kallis, Morne Morkel, Alviro Petersen, Robin Peterson, Vernon Philander, Jacques Rudolph, Dale Steyn, and Lonwabo Tsotsobe.