Ollie Robinson has been handed a second chance to prove his long term fitness for Test cricket with a call up to England's squad to take on South Africa.
The Sussex seamer was named on Tuesday in a 14-man squad for the first two of the three Tests series starting at Lord’s on August 17. And he will be asked to get through a four day tour match against South Africa with the England Lions before he is considered for the Test side.
Robinson was England’s leading wicket-taker in his first summer of Test cricket last year, claiming 28 victims but has sustained a string of niggling injuries since.
So much so that it led to his fitness being publicly cricitised by bowling coach Jon Lewis in the winter Ashes tour.
Since then he has pulled out of England’s warm up game in Antigua ahead of the West Indies tour a county-select XI to face New Zealand with further back problems earlier this summer.
England have finalised details of their first tour to Pakistan in 17 years with seven T20s to be played in Karachi and Lahore between September 20 and October 2.
The tour will be the first in Pakistan since England last visited in 2005, with security concerns preventing the ECB sending any squads to Pakistan in the ensuing years following the terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore back in 2009.
England were due to tour winter but pulled out in controversial circumstances soon after New Zealand had abandoned their tour of the South Asian country over security concerns.
England will use the T20 series as preparation for the T20 World Cup in Australia in October and November before returning for a three-Test series in December.
England Test squad in full: Ben Stokes (captain), James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Jack Leach, Alex Lees, Craig Overton, Matthew Potts, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root
