Five-time Ashes winner Ian Bell has been dropped from England's Test squad for the tour of South Africa in December.
An indifferent spell for Bell
The classy Warwickshire batsman has been in a barren run of form recently, and hasn't scored a Test hundred since his 143 against the West Indies in April.
Since then the 33-year-old has batted 23 times scoring just 428 runs at an average of a shade over 20 - which pales in comparison of his career average of 42.69.
In that time he has passed fifty on four occasions, with three of those coming after his promotion to number three - after the recalled Gary Ballance was harshly dropped during the Ashes.
The most frustrating thing for Bell, who has scored 22 Test tons, is that after his 63 in Abu Dhabi, he got himself in with scores of 46 and 40. If he had gone on and notched up three figures, or even 80 or 90, he would have found himself on the plane to South Africa - but when he was bowled in his final innings by Shoaib Malik for a duck the writing was on the wall.
It certainly isn't the end for Bell, who made his debut in 2004, with the selectors stating he has a future in the side. The time off might do him some good, and a return to County Cricket at the start of the season could spark a return to the prolific run-scoring we're so used to ahead of the visiting Sri Lankans.
Ballance, who played the last of his 15 Tests against Australia at Lord's, has found himself on the trip, despite not churning out the amount of runs he or the selectors would have liked after his return to Yorkshire.
The Zimbabwean-born batsman looks set to return to number three, where he averages 47.76 with four hundreds, in place of the departing Bell.
Plenty of changes to the team
Nick Compton also earned himself a recall, and his opening partnership average with captain Alastair Cook - 57.93 in 17 innings - remains the highest of any English pair since Andrew Strauss retired in 2012. But the Somerset man will have to wait in the wings, with Alex Hales favourite to partner the skipper and make his long awaited debut in the longest form of the game.
Adil Rashid has also been given the axe after an indifferent maiden tour in the UAE. The conditions in the Southern Hemisphere aren't the best for spinners, with the fast men carrying the burden on the pacey, seaming decks.
Mark Footit has been called up for his first senior England tour after the news of Mark Wood and Steven Finn missing out due to ankle and foot injuries respectively.
Ben Stokes inclusion is a massive boost to the side, as he balances the team perfectly, much like Andrew Flintoff did. He is unlikely to be fully fit in time for the first Test on Boxing Day in Durban, but will come into consideration once he regains full fitness following his collerbone injury - which he sustained after falling heavily attempting a catch in Sharjah.