Archer, England’s leading wicket-taker in their 2019 ODI World Cup victory, last played an international game in March 2021, on England’s T20I tour of India.
His career in recent years has been plagued by a long-standing elbow issue, which has required two bouts of surgery, as well as a stress fracture of the lower back which ruled him out of the entire 2022 home summer.
However, he made an encouraging return to the England set-up in the UAE last month, training with the England Lions and taking part in the warm-up match against the Test squad, in which he hit Zak Crawley on the head with a sharp bouncer in the first of his nine overs.
His return forms part of a managed return to action across formats, with Archer also due to play two matches for MI Cape Town in the inaugural SA20 – the new South Africa domestic competition that gets underway in January, ahead of the three-match England tour.
“I’d rather take these last few months very seriously, more serious than probably all of the rehab,” he said. “Because once this phase goes right, then it can set me up for the next three to four years injury-free. That’s the goal right now.”
The three-match series will be played over six days, with the first match in Bloemfontein starting on January 27, while England’s Test tour of New Zealand gets underway the following week.
England ODI squad: Jos Buttler (capt), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Phil Salt, Olly Stone, Reece Topley, David Willey, Chris Woakes
#England #South #Africa