South Africa captain Graeme Smith won the toss and elected to bat in the first Test against England at Edgbaston here on Thursday.
South Africa was without all-rounder Jacques Kallis, who was back in Cape Town where his father Henry died of lung cancer on Wednesday. The Proteas included left-arm spinner Robin Peterson, pace bowler Dewald Pretorious and left-arm swing bowler Charl Willougby, all of whom had played just one Test each before this match.
There was no place for uncapped paceman Monde Zondeki while Neil McKenzie lost out to Boeta Dippenaar in the competition for Kallis’s top order batting spot.
England recalled fast bowler Darren Gough, 32, for his first Test since the final match of the 2001 Ashes series at The Oval.
Yorkshire quick Gough, who returned to England duty in the one-day series, had been sidelined with a right knee injury that required three operations. England left out uncapped Sussex fast bowler James Kirtley from their 12-man squad.
Both teams will wear black armbands in memory of Kallis’s father in what is the first Test of a five-match series.
Teams
England: Marcus Trescothick, Michael Vaughan, Mark Butcher, Nasser Hussain (capt), Andrew Flintoff, Alec Stewart (wkt), Anthony McGrath, Ashley Giles, Stephen Harmison, Darren Gough, James Anderson
South Africa: Graeme Smith (capt), Herschelle Gibbs, Gary Kirsten, Jacques Rudolph, Boeta Dippenaar, Mark Boucher (wkt), Shaun Pollock, Robin Peterson, Dewald Pretorious, Makhaya Ntini, Charl Willoughby
Umpires: Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan (IND), Daryl Harper (AUS) TV umpire: Jeremy Lloyds (ENG) Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI) – Sapa-AFP