England had more bad news on the morning of the second Test against South Africa, with paceman Jofra Archer ruled out due to an elbow injury.
Opening batsman Rory Burns will play no further part in the series after injuring ankle ligaments during a football warm-up on the eve of the match, and the tourists will now be without their fastest bowler in Cape Town.
Archer experienced pain in his right elbow following the 107-run defeat in Centurion and will now be sent for further assessment as England seek to assess the nature of the problem.
How Rory Burns injured his left ankle ligaments in training yesterday, ruling him out of the remainder of the #SAvENG series 😬 pic.twitter.com/804aIQDOfG — ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) January 3, 2020
A statement from the England and Wales Cricket Board on Archer read: "He is not fit to play, suffering with a right elbow injury. He will not be at the ground today and will have a second scan to determine the extent of the injury."
England captain Joe Root won the toss, his first slice of luck in some time, and opted to bat first in front of a packed Newlands crowd.
His team sheet contained two recalls, Zak Crawley winning a second cap in Burns' place at the top of the order and spinner Dom Bess making his third England appearance instead of Archer.
England's preparations ahead of play did contain a short game of 'head tennis' with a football, but no sign of their usual friendly match – an indication that the tradition has been shelved, at least temporarily.
