Toby Roland-Jones to make England Test debut against South Africa

Toby Roland-Jones will make his England Test debut against South Africa on Thursday in place of the injured Mark Wood.

Wood’s heel injury will sideline him for the third Test at The Oval, which is live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10am on Thursday, handing recent squad regular Roland-Jones his chance.

The seamer was Middlesex’s leading wicket-taker in last year’s Championship and came to public prominence when his hat-trick sealed the county’s first title win in 23 years.

England captain Joe Root told Sky Sports News: "Woody’s not 100 per cent fit, so he’s going to miss out and Toby’s going to come in and make his debut.

"In the lead-up to the other games he’s looked really good in practice, and he’s obviously had a fine couple of years.

"It’s a very exciting time for anyone making their Test debut, and I’m sure he’ll be desperate to show what he can do."

Root dismissed fears over the long-term fitness of Durham quick Wood, who missed the winter programme after a series of operations on his ankle.

"I don’t think it’s a concern," he said. "It’s the nature of how he throws himself into his work. He’s learning about his body all the time and I can’t see him not being fit for too much longer."

The sides go to The Oval level at 1-1 after South Africa’s 340-run win at Trent Bridge led to criticism of England’s batting approach.

Root said: "I think they’re entitled to their opinions. We obviously weren’t good enough, and there’s no point hiding or making excuses. Most importantly it’s about the attitude we show and making sure we bounce back strong from that."

Tom Westley joins Roland-Jones in making his debut in London, while a third new boy Dawid Malan will come into contention if England opt against selecting a second spinner in Liam Dawson.

"We’ll have a look at the wicket on Thursday and then decide from there," Root said.

South Africa will be bolstered by the return of Kagiso Rabada, who is available after serving his one-match ban for swearing after dismissing Ben Stokes in the first match of the series.

"I’m excited to see what ‘KG’ is going to bring to this game," said Proteas skipper Faf Du Plessis.

"With the time off, always as a player it makes you a little bit hungry again – and the fact that we have done well in the previous game will add as motivation. I assume he’ll be raring to get that ball in his hand."

Du Plessis is hoping his side can pile the pressure on Root’s side after the Trent Bridge trouncing.

"I see it as a nice thing for us to be in at the opposition," he said. "All teams don’t want to feel the pressure, and you do feel the pressure when you don’t play your best cricket – that’s part of the game. We will certainly try and make use of pressure wherever we can."

England (possible): JE Root (Captain), AN Cook, KK Jennings, T Westley, BA Stokes, JM Bairstow (wkt), MM Ali, LA Dawson, TS Roland-Jones, SCJ Broad, JM Anderson

South Africa (possible): F du Plessis (Captain), D Elgar, H Kuhn, H Amla, T Bavuma, Q de Kock (wkt), V Philander, C Morris, K Maharaj, K Rabada, M Morkel

(c) Sky News 2017: Toby Roland-Jones to make England Test debut against South Africa