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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Matthew Cooper

Jofra Archer makes long-awaited England return as ODI squad vs South Africa announced

Jofra Archer has been named in his first England squad in almost two years, with the World Cup winner set to return to action in the three-match ODI series against South Africa which begins in January.

Archer last played international cricket in March 2021 and has had a torrid time with injuries, having first been sidelined with an elbow injury that required two operations. He then suffered a stress fracture of the back as he prepared to make his comeback for Sussex earlier this year and was subsequently sidelined for the entire summer.

Reece Topley is also set to be back in action for England, having been heartbreakingly ruled out of England's T20 World Cup winning campaign after injuring his ankle on an advertising 'Toblerone' on the eve of the tournament.

Ben Duckett and Harry Brook have been rewarded for their good form in the recent T20I and Test tours of Pakistan. They were England's two leading run scorers on both occasions and will be hoping to lay down a marker ahead of the 2023 50-over World Cup.

Duckett makes the squad for the first time since 2016, having previously played three ODIs and scored 123 runs at an average of 41. Brook, meanwhile, has earned an ODI call-up for the first time and last played a List A game in May 2019.

The three-game series will begin on January 27 in Bloemfontein and will end in Kimberley on February 1, with the series being played to make up for the 2020 tour that England abandoned due to Covid concerns.

England star Harry Brook could make his ODI debut (Philip Brown/Popperfoto/Popperfoto via Getty Images)

Jason Roy also retains his place in the side, despite a recent lean run of form. Roy was axed from England's T20 side for the victorious World Cup campaign due to his struggles, but has not fared much better in ODIs since the tour of the Netherlands in June.

In eight innings since then, Roy has scored 160 runs off 204 balls at an average of just 20 and a strike rate of 78.43. However, England clearly believe in the opener and are willing to give him plenty of time to find his form before the World Cup begins in October.

England's ODI squad: Jos Buttler, 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

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