First Test: South Africa v England
Dates: 16-20 December Start time: 0830 GMT** Venue:** SuperSport Park, Centurion Coverage: Listen to Test Match Special on BBC Radio 4 Longwave, 5 Live sports extra, the Red Button and BBC Sport website. Text commentary on BBC Sport website. Also live on Sky Sports.
**England have called up Kent off-spinner James Tredwell into their squad for the four-Test series against South Africa.**The uncapped 27-year-old has been selected as cover for Graeme Swann, who is struggling with a side injury.
Head coach Andy Flower said he expected Swann to be fit for the first Test, which gets under way on Wednesday, but had called up Tredwell as a precaution.
Tredwell was already in South Africa after being called up to the one-day squad, again as cover for Swann.
Flower said: "Graeme’s injury is improving and we expect him to be available for the first Test match.
“But with a further three matches to come after Centurion we have decided that we need a ‘like-for-like’ replacement on hand for Graeme should this be required later in the tour.”
Swann impressed in the warm-up game against a South Africa Invitational XI last week, taking 6-55 and hitting an unbeaten 39 from 43 balls.
Tredwell took 69 wickets in last season’s County Championship at an average of 26.6, and is regarded as a useful batsman.
He played for the England Performance Programme side in their tour match against Nashua Titans President’s Xl last week and made 70 with the bat in the first innings.
606: DEBATE
Who should England pick for the first Test
Former England captain Michael Vaughan believes that the tourists’ in-form batting unit could prove the difference between the sides.
“Both bowling attacks might struggle with the longer form of the game because they haven’t bowled the big spells,” Vaughan told BBC Sport.
“But out of the two batting units, England’s looks like it’s had the better preparation.”
England won the one-day series 2-1 and all of their batsmen have managed to play their way into form in the two warm-up matches since.
Skipper Andrew Strauss notched a century in England’s final tune-up against a South African Invitational XI, while Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen scored fifties.
Ian Bell and Matt Prior looked good in the previous game against a South Africa Airways XI, and Paul Collingwood was in fine form in the one-dayers.
Vaughan added: "England’s preparation has been very good, Bell and Cook have had time in the middle with the performance squad, Strauss has got a hundred, KP got runs the other day, Trott’s got runs, and Collingwood’s in the form of his life.
"They’re inexperienced in terms of games they’ve played, but the mentality and athleticism around the whole squad is excellent.
"They’re not going to play well every day but I believe if they have a bad day this team’s got the mental strength to bounce back from that.
"South Africa have confident players and they have world-class players, but [coach] Mickey Arthur’s come out with some real big comments and maybe they’re trying to get into England psychologically.
“But I don’t think they’ll do that to this England team, it’s very tough mentally.”
Proteas coach Mickey Arthur criticised England’s tactics and their players during the Twenty20 series, which South Africa won 1-0, but his side have not played a Test since March.
And although England have lost the first Test on six of their last seven tours, they beat South Africa in the first Test of the 2005 series and will hope to catch the hosts cold again.