England name Brydon Carse in Lions squad as Shoaib Bashir is omitted

England have named pace bowler Brydon Carse in the Lions squad, opening the possibility of his return to Test cricket for the tour of South Africa as the Test and Lions squads were announced on Monday; the three-Test series begins in Johannesburg on 17 December. The 15-man Test group includes an uncapped call-up for Nottinghamshire spinner Liam Patterson-White while Shoaib Bashir has been left out of the squad.

Carse has not played for England since the fifth Ashes Test in January and was handcuffed - explained as arrested then de-arrested - outside a nightclub in Derby in August. Derbyshire Police have ended their investigation into a potential assault, but Carse has been charged by the Cricket Regulator with a verdict still to come; he has continued to play for Durham and remained available for England selection. England previously said he needed time away from the international arena, and selector Marcus North said: "The past few months, under investigation, there has been a time where he has stood back, a time of reflection. "It's obviously been a challenging time for Brydon, it's one that we haven't felt that the demands of playing international cricket and what he was dealing with wasn't necessarily right for Brydon or for us. "There have been numerous conversations over this period. The conclusion is we feel he is in a place where we feel we can introduce him back into the England environment and we feel the Lions is the right place for him to come."

Carse could be drafted into the Test squad as cover for Josh Tongue, who will miss the opener to the three-Test series to be at the birth of his second child. Tongue is also missing England's one-day series in Australia with a toe injury and is due to see a specialist in the UK; depending on the status of his injury he could play in England's only warm-up game ahead of the South Africa Tests before returning home, potentially leaving the tourists a seamer light. Carse will compete with Lions seamers Henry Crocombe, Olly Stone, Matthew Fisher, Eddie Jack, Matthew Potts and Mitchell Stanley for a route into the senior squad.

North confirmed England will call up "one or two" players to the senior squad and defended the decision to use the Lions tour for assessment, saying: "This is where I feel using the Lions tour to our advantage - we have a very strong bowling group in that Lions programme," he said. "That enables us to have a look at where they are at, under competition and training."

The tour will be England's first under new head coach Stephen Fleming; with the white-ball team in Perth preparing for the first one-day against Australia on Friday, Fleming travelled from his home in New Zealand to meet the management and select the Test squad. Jacob Bethell returns to the Test set-up for the first time since July following a knee injury, creating selection congestion in the top order after Emilio Gay and Jordan Cox both featured in the 3-0 home win over Pakistan, and North said England are yet to settle on their top six for the first Test.

Bashir's omission ends his uninterrupted run in England squads since his debut; given a debut at 20 after only six first-class matches, he was fast-tracked as England's number-one spinner and became the youngest England bowler to 50 Test wickets. He missed selection during last winter's 4-1 defeat in Australia after a broken hand and a loss of form, and bowled in only one of England's six home Tests during the past summer, but was still the only specialist red-ball spinner awarded a central contract last month. Of Bashir, North said: "Our investment hasn't changed," said North of Bashir. "He is still a very young man, he is someone who we still have a very positive outlook for. "We look at each Test series in isolation, and we feel Liam gives us the best balance and that spinner for this tour. We continue to be incredibly invested in Shoaib over the winter."

Patterson-White, who turned 28 on Sunday, is called up for the first time after being given an England development contract and on the back of strong form for Nottinghamshire. Last season his 42 wickets were the most by a spinner in Division One of the County Championship, and he has made three first-class hundreds; North added: "Liam has got some great attributes," said North. "There is a lot of consistency with Liam and his bowling. "We feel that has really come and matured during the past two seasons at Nottinghamshire. He has the ability to hold an end, but also get into the game at the back end. "We're really excited to see Liam in that Test environment. It's recognition of his development over the past year or so."

The Test squad will join the tour in different groups, with some players linking up with the Lions in late November and others travelling after returning to the UK following their roles in the one-dayers in Australia. From the Test players who are also involved in the T20 series in Australia, white-ball captain Harry Brook, Bethell and Cox will miss the fifth and final match of the series in order to travel to South Africa; for Brook it will be the first England game he has missed since the T20 tour of Ireland last September, and in his absence all-rounder Will Jacks will captain England for the first time.

The three-Test series begins in Johannesburg on 17 December, with members of the Test squad due to link up with the Lions or arrive after completion of their commitments in Australia.