South Africa v England: Jofra Archer return headlines one-day series

Jofra Archer (left) has not played planetary cricket for 22 months

Jofra Archer's instrumentality headlines an different low-key one-day bid successful South Africa that begins a important twelvemonth for the England men's team.

The three-match bid begins a 2023 successful which England volition look to support the 50-over World Cup and regain the Ashes.

The opener is successful Bloemfontein, arsenic is Sunday's 2nd game, earlier a finale successful Kimberley connected Wednesday.

The bid is rescheduled from 2020, erstwhile England near South Africa aft a fig of affirmative coronavirus tests.

In bid for it to beryllium played, the inaugural play of the South Africa T20 league has taken an eight-day interruption and volition recommence connected 2 February.

This circuit and England's limited-overs travel to Bangladesh successful March - besides rescheduled from 2021 - travel either broadside of a two-Test bid successful New Zealand successful February, and lone a fistful of players are progressive successful some reddish and white-ball squads.

England, satellite champions successful some limited-overs formats, volition support the 50-over rubric they won successful 2019 successful India successful October and November.

Archer volition get 'better and better'

Elbow and backmost injuries person prevented Archer from playing for England since a T20 bid successful India astatine the opening of 2021.

He made his instrumentality to competitory cricket earlier this period successful the South African T20 league, taking 8 wickets successful 5 matches for MI Cape Town.

The Sussex antheral bowled the ace implicit successful the last that helped England triumph the World Cup successful 2019 and helium would apt to beryllium the person of the onslaught successful India aboriginal this twelvemonth if helium tin enactment fit.

He has expressed his tendency to play successful the Ashes, but his short-term aboriginal lies successful limited-overs cricket, some for England and astatine the Indian Premier League.

"It's large to person Jofra back, acceptable and playing cricket again," said England skipper Jos Buttler. "I deliberation I talk connected behalf of everyone - he's specified an breathtaking feline to person backmost connected the field.

"As an England captain, to person him successful the squad is brilliant. I'm definite he'll get amended and amended arsenic helium comes back.

"There's nary anticipation from my broadside connected Jofra. He volition travel backmost and execute brilliantly due to the fact that that is what helium is capable to do.

"He's coming backmost aft a agelong time. The strength successful planetary cricket is antithetic and helium has had immoderate important injuries. It would beryllium naïve to deliberation it wouldn't instrumentality him a small spot of clip to get up to 100%. It's conscionable fantastic to spot him acceptable and backmost playing again."

World Cup countdown starts now

England person played lone 12 ODIs since the summertime of 2021 and 3 of those were a bizarre bid successful Australia pursuing their palmy T20 World Cup campaign.

The bid successful South Africa and Bangladesh are England's past successful presumption of catching up from disruption caused by Covid-19 so, successful theory, determination should beryllium little request for players to person to beryllium shared betwixt the Test and limited-overs sides.

Still, the layout of England's twelvemonth - they play nary ODIs betwixt March and September - means each fixture serves arsenic captious mentation for the World Cup.

A operation of injuries, remainder and Test enactment person near England without Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone and Mark Wood successful South Africa.

Whereas England entered the 2019 World Cup with a broadside that had been settled for immoderate time, determination are vacancies successful the mediate bid pursuing the caller retirements of erstwhile skipper Eoin Morgan and Test skipper Ben Stokes, adjacent if Stokes himself and white-ball manager Matthew Mott person near the doorway unfastened for the all-rounder to play astatine the World Cup.

"We person a World Cup ninth months distant and don't person loads of games earlier that," said Buttler.

"They're each truly captious games to springiness guys chances and vulnerability to the ODI format, and opportunities to nail down a spot successful the XI oregon 15 for the World Cup.

"There are 2 large names, Morgan and Stokes, who are not astir anymore. They are large holes to fill, truthful that's breathtaking for guys to person that accidental to enactment their manus up and involvement a assertion for those spots."

• 'Door open' for Stokes to instrumentality astatine World Cup

Roy inactive looking for runs

Opener Jason Roy is inactive searching for runs, having gone 14 planetary innings without registering a half-century and losing his spot successful the T20 squad earlier the World Cup.

Bairstow volition instrumentality astatine the apical of the bid erstwhile helium recovers from a breached leg, leaving Roy nether unit from the likes of Phil Salt, Dawid Malan, Alex Hales and Will Jacks.

Salt and Malan are successful South Africa, though Salt has been suffering from unwellness and could miss Friday's game.

Harry Brook and Ben Duckett, who person some impressed successful Test and T20 cricket, person the accidental to property their assertion successful the ODI format earlier joining the Test squad successful New Zealand.

Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali proceed arsenic the frontline spinners, though with the World Cup taking spot successful India, England whitethorn request to find a 3rd dilatory bowler arsenic cover.

With Wood absent, Olly Stone joins Archer arsenic a high-pace option, alongside regular white-ball seamers Chris Woakes, Reece Topley, David Willey and T20 World Cup subordinate of the tourney Sam Curran.