England have confirmed their 14-man squad for the tour of South Africa with Harry Brook and Jofra Archer returning after two years out injured… while Reece Topley also made the cut after recovering from an ankle injury – ankle.
- England have announced their squad for the one-day tour of South Africa next month
- Harry Brook and Jofra Archer are notable inclusions in the 14-man group
- Brook, 23, has been named in a 50-over England squad for the first time
- Archer is set to make his first international appearance in close to two years
Jofra Archer is set to end almost two years on the sidelines in South Africa next month as England juggle their fast bowling resources for overlapping tours in the new year.
Archer was named in a 14-man squad for the three ODIs in South Africa, having last featured for England in a Twenty20 against India in March 2021. He has since been sidelined with an elbow injury and a stress fracture in the back.
Meanwhile, Stuart Broad and Matt Potts will now be named in a 15-strong Test squad to tour New Zealand in February.
Harry Brook (L) and Jofra Archer (R) have been named in England’s squad to face South Africa
Neither was selected for Pakistan’s historic 3-0 series whitewash — Broad was on paternity leave and Potts was overlooked — but they returned to support Jimmy Anderson and Ollie Robinson as Mark Wood and Jamie Overton dropped out.
Suddenly, after a rapid bowling injury crisis threatened to ruin England’s glorious summer, there was fierce competition for places. In the last two weeks, Archer has been in Barbados for warm-up training during Saqib Mahmood, another England stress fracture victim. Mahmood made his Test debut in the Caribbean nine months ago but broke down soon after with Lancashire and has been out since.
Mahmood, 25, was bowling at full pace in Bridgetown but has pulled out of next month’s International League T20 in the UAE with the Desert Vipers as a precaution, delaying his return until February. That return can now take place in England colors when a white-ball tour of Bangladesh – three ODIs and three T20s – clash in the New Zealand series, which is not part of the World Test Championship.
Reece Topley appears to have recovered from the ankle ligament injury that ended his World Cup. He was named alongside uncap Harry Brook in the 50-over group for the Bloemfontein and Kimberley matches, and Matthew Fisher and Brydon Carse are also fit back and could feature in the England Lions tour of Sri Lanka in January.
Reece Topley has also made the cut after recovering from damage to his ankle ligaments
The start of 2023 has been incredibly busy for England stars — Joe Root added to that on Thursday by signing a T20 deal with the Dubai Capitals.
Rehan Ahmed will play for the Gulf Giants in that UAE competition.
However, ECB performance director Mo Bobat has been talking to the Leicestershire all-rounder about a balanced diet of first-class and white-ball cricket and whether he is bought in today’s Indian Premier League auction could influence in the next step. With conditions in New Zealand unlikely to warrant a second spinner, England bosses believe he would be better served seeking limited opportunities elsewhere.
team: Jos Buttler (captain, wkt), Moeen Ali, Jason Roy, Phil Salt, Ben Duckett, Dawid Malan, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Olly Stone, Reece Topley
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