England calls up Overton and Bess as cover as illness hits camp

Due to widespread illness in the England camp, Craig Overton and Dom Bess have been called up to the team to face South Africa as cover.

Craig Overton has been called up by England

Craig Overton and Dominic Bess have been called up by England as cover ahead of the Boxing Day Test against South Africa due to illness in the camp.

A number of players in the England squad are suffering from sickness, so the Somerset duo have been drafted in and will arrive in Johannesburg on Saturday.

The widespread illness has resulted in the warm-up match against South Africa A being downgraded to a friendly, permitting the tourist greater flexibility with its line-up.

An England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) spokesperson said: "ECB would like to take this opportunity to thank CSA [Cricket South Africa] 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."

Overton and Bess have played four and two Tests respectively.

South Africa named six uncapped players in its squad for the first two Tests and lost Temba Bavuma to a hip flexor muscle strain on Thursday.