{
  "id": 13809382,
  "title": "South African Simons to join England Test set-up",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/11/south-african-simons-to-join-england-test-set-up",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-11T21:28:11.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "BBC Sport",
    "slug": "bbc-sport",
    "url": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/articles/c3qjndw28zkyo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "England are set to expand their backroom staff for the upcoming Test series against South Africa, with the addition of Eric Simons as the Test bowling coach. The news comes as Stephen Fleming, the new Test coach, assembles his team for the series, which begins in December. Simons, a former head coach of South Africa, previously worked alongside Fleming in the Indian Premier League (IPL) with Chennai Super Kings. His new role will be confirmed on Monday, when England unveil the latest round of central contracts. Fleming is currently leading the Test side, while Brendon McCullum manages the white-ball teams. During McCullum's tenure as Test coach, England employed several fast-bowling consultants, including James Anderson, David Saker, Tim Southee, Mike Yardy, and Carl Hopkinson. It is possible that Southee and fielding coach Sarah Taylor may rejoin the team later in the winter. Kevin Pietersen has been appointed as a batting consultant to the white-ball teams ahead of the 50-over World Cup in southern Africa. Pietersen, a former England batter, will not be part of the upcoming Pakistan tour but will join the squad for the tour of Australia and the one-day internationals in South Africa, his birth country, in January. Marcus Trescothick served as an interim head coach for the Test team during England's series against Pakistan, and his future within the England setup remains uncertain.",
  "summary": "England are set to add the first name to Stephen Fleming’s backroom team, with Eric Simons joining as Test bowling coach.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Channel News Asia",
        "title": "Smith sets catching record as Australia take firm grip on test",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/11/smith-sets-catching-record-as-australia-take-firm-grip-on-test",
        "published": "2026-10-11T10:06:42.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Citizen",
        "title": "South Africa v Australia first Test: Day three takeaways",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/11/south-africa-v-australia-first-test-day-three-takeaways",
        "published": "2026-10-11T14:59:34.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "ESPNcricinfo",
        "title": "How bad light could shape the South Africa vs Australia Test",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/11/how-bad-light-could-shape-the-south-africa-vs-australia-test",
        "published": "2026-10-11T18:04:39.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}