​Bess and Overton called up to the England Test squad

Somerset duo of Dominic Bess and Craig Overton have been called up to the England men’s Test squad as cover ahead of the first Test starting on Boxing Day against South Africa at SuperSport Park, Centurion due to illness in the camp.

Bess and Overton are due to arrive at the team's base in Johannesburg on Saturday morning.

Due to widespread illness in the England camp, it has been agreed that the match against South Africa A starting at Willowmoore Park today has been downgraded to a three-day friendly tour match with only 11 players batting or fielding at any point in time. The playing conditions remain as previously agreed.

A spokesperson for the England and Wales Cricket Board said: "ECB would like to take this opportunity to thank CSA for their flexibility on this situation and to emphasise that under normal circumstances we would have wanted to play the match first-class, but illness in the camp has made this very problematic."

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