Jonny Bairstow to join James Anderson, Mark Wood in South Africa training camp

The aforementioned training camp in Potchefstroom will be a test for Bairstow, who was dropped from the squad that’s playing a two-match Test series in New Zealand, to be back in the side in time for the away series in South Africa. 

Meanwhile, Olly Stone, Craig Overton and Sussex's Ollie Robinson will also join the seasoned pacers- Anderson and Wood- in the bowling camp between December 1 and 14.

The special pace bowling camp, led by Durham's Neil Kileen and Lancashire's Glenn Chapple,  is designed to test the pair's fitness ahead of the four-match Test series against South Africa, starting from December 26. While Anderson has not played since injuring his calf in the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston, Wood has not donned the England jersey ever since the World Cup final. Both fast-bowlers have recently been in Spain doing some outdoor bowling.

According to the ECB's new Performance Director, Mo Bobat, these are specialised programmes looked after by expert coaches for every department. Jonathan Trott will work with Bairstow as a part of the programme in the training camp.

"The Individualised Programmes are a great opportunity for some of our best young cricketers to focus on specific areas of their game in unfamiliar and challenging conditions around the world," Bobat was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

"We're fortunate to be working with a number of high-quality coaches and support staff to help deliver this fresh approach to our programming, which is testament to the strong links we have with the counties."