De Villiers to keep wicket in England Tests

In a bid to better balance their side, South Africa have asked AB de Villiers to don the wicketkeeping gloves for the first two Tests against England and he has agreed. De Villiers was the only keeper named in the 13-man squad, with neither Dane Vilas, who toured India as the first-choice gloveman, nor Quinton de Kock, who was dropped in Bangladesh for poor batting form but has since been in the runs, called up.

"AB saw the need that the team has now and understands that if he keeps wicket, it allows us to have an extra batsman," Linda Zondi, South Africa's convener of selectors, told ESPNcricinfo. "When we became No. 1, we had seven batters. It gives us an extra edge. We are very grateful from a selection point of view that he has agreed to do it. He is the ultimate team man."

When asked about the chronic back problem that has seen de Villiers see-saw in and out of the role, Zondi said "it will be assessed" during the Tests and immediately afterwards, to determine whether de Villiers should continue behind the stumps as the series goes on. If he does not, one of Vilas or de Kock, who Zondi has assured are "both still part of the plans" and who will play for the South Africa A side against England in a three-day warm-up match, could be called up.

The extra batsman is most likely to come in the form of Temba Bavuma, who opened the batting in the fourth Test against India but will move back to his regular position in the middle order. Stiaan van Zyl, who was dropped for the Delhi Test, will return to partner Dean Elgar at the top, with Rilee Rossouw included as the extra batsman. Rossouw missed the entire India trip after he sustained a stress fracture to his foot during the home series against New Zealand in August but has been playing for his franchise, the Knights, in the domestic 20-over competition.

That does not mean South Africa are out of the woods when it comes to niggles. Vernon Philander has been ruled out of the Boxing Day and New Year's Tests as he recovers from torn ankle ligaments, allowing both Kyle Abbott and Kagiso Rabada to keep their places in the squad. Dale Steyn, who will have a fitness text next week to determine his availability after a groin injury kept him out of three of the four Tests in India, has been named in the squad, alongside Morne Morkel. South Africa have included just one spinner in Dane Piedt, with both Simon Harmer and Imran Tahir out.

Piedt was preferred after just one Test in India because of what Zondi called a policy of fairness, which allows each player a sustained run, and because South Africa are opting for a containing, rather than attacking spinner at home. "In our conditions, we feel we need more of a holding spinner so although Imran Tahir is still in our plans, at the moment, we have decided to go with Piedt," Zondi said. "And from a consistency point of view, you can't give a player one match. We gave Simon a run in Bangladesh and in two of the India Tests, now we are giving Piedt a chance. Let's see what he can offer. The good thing is that we have options."

South Africa's depth seemed to be sufficient following the retirements of Jacques Kallis and Graeme Smith but they have been stretched after Alviro Petersen left the opening berth. Instead of calling up an opener from the franchise circuit - and Stephen Cook, who will play for South Africa A against England, was an obvious candidate - the leading run-scorer in the first-class competition in 2013-14, van Zyl, was promoted.

Van Zyl has only opened in five Tests, all in the subcontinent, and struggled in India, where he was eventually replaced by Bavuma but Zondi thinks it is important to see how he performs in more familiar territory. "We asked Stiaan to open because there was a gap and he has taken up the responsibility so it's only fair to back him and give him a run on home soil and then we will assess," Zondi said. "The more you back players, the more you remove the uncertainty."

One player whose career has been shrouded in exactly that is Abbott. Over two-and-a-half years, he has only played five Tests, three of them as a stand-in for an injured team-mate. If he plays against England, he will be standing in for Philander again and will know he may not be able to hold on to the spot if Philander regains fitness.

Philander is considered vital for two reasons. Zondi said South Africa "need him the most" in this series because of his ability to exploit home advantage. "It is sad to see Vernon get injured in that way," he said. "When we need him the most, in the conditions that suit him the most, we don't have him. It's a big loss for us."

In addition, Philander's lower-order batting also adds to his value. "Vernon not there leaves us vulnerable. I know a lot of people will say the top six must get the runs but it doesn't always work like that," Russell Domingo, South Africa's coach, said on their arrival back home on Tuesday evening. "We know the top six have got to get runs but the other team can bowl well and that puts your lower and middle order under pressure. At the moment we are hoping our lower order can make some contributions."

Although Abbott is not as much of a batsman as Philander, he has an opportunity to stake a claim for a longer run but only if he is preferred over Rabada. The 20-year-old quick is the flavour of the month and seems set to continue in that vein for the foreseeable future. Rabada played in all but one match on South Africa's India tour and Zondi said team management are aware of the need to monitor his workload. "We need to manage him. He is still young. He has done very well. It is our role to make sure we are managing him," Zondi said.

South Africa may also toy with the option of playing four quicks, especially in the first Test at Kingsmead, where conditions should be ripe for both seam and swing.

South Africa squad: Hashim Amla (capt), AB de Villiers (wk), Kyle Abbott, Temba Bavuma, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Dean Elgar, Morne Morkel, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Dale Steyn, Stiaan van Zyl