A crap (literally) start to the tour.
An illness bug within the England squad has forced them to downgrade their match against South Africa A from first-class status to a practice match in which more than 11 players can appear.
www.telegraph.co.uk
England forced to downgrade first-class status of final warm-up match as illness spreads through squad
An
illness bug within the England squad has forced them to downgrade their match against South Africa A from first-class status to a practice match in which more than 11 players can appear. It is a significant blow to their pre-series preparations, and now means that England won’t play any first-class cricket before the opening Test on Boxing Day.
Bowling trio Stuart Broad, Jofra Archer and Jack Leach were all absent from the opening warm-up match
against an Invitational XI with a bug. These symptoms have deteriorated over recent days, with several others members of the squad affected.
Changing the first-class status of the match means that players with bugs may still be able to appear for a portion of the game - for instance, Archer and Broad bowling a few overs and then going off the field - to aide their preparations for the first Test. It would be a concern for England if both Archer and Broad appeared in the opening Test, which begins on Boxing Day, without any prior bowling in a match on tour.
Joe Denly, another first choice player, has also been afflicted by the bug, although he made an unbeaten 60 against the Invitation XI before falling ill. Two members of the coaching team have also got the bug.
Downgrading the game is a disappointment for England head coach Chris Silverwood, who views tour matches as a chance to up the intensity before Test matches.
Under Trevor Bayliss tour matches were treated like practice games, but Silverwood’s view is that - just as they before the 2010/11 Ashes - impressive performances in tour games can set the tone for the subsequent series.
)
