South Africa will look to “rev it up” with Jos Buttler in the Third Test, after the England wicketkeeper was fined by the ICC for foul language, according to fast bowler Anrich Nortje.
In the final session of the unforgettable Second Test at Cape Town, Buttler was caught on a stump microphone calling South Africa’s Vernon Philander a “f***ing k***head” and referencing his weight. ICC match referee Andy Pycroft fined Buttler 15 per cent of his match fee for the outburst, for which he has now apologised.
South Africa, though, plan to give a little back when the next Test begins in Port Elizabeth on Thursday.
“[The comments] definitely get one or two guys going, but we haven’t really spoken about it. That’s for umpires and whoever to sort out,” said Nortje , who has 10 wickets at 22 in the series so far. “It’s not really something you can say on a stump mic. It gets the blood flowing and once we identify a moment we will probably try and rev it up.”
South Africa are set to be unchanged but England will make one enforced change, following James Anderson flying home with a broken rib. Having had a day off on Tuesday, England have one final training session this afternoon to decide who to pick. Mark Wood is the favourite to play his first match in six months, but Chris Woakes could also be selected. Jofra Archer would have to prove he has recovered sufficiently from his elbow injury to get the nod.
Victory would give England a 2-1 lead heading into the final Test at the Wanderers in Johannesburg next week.
“I think it would be an amazing achievement for us, especially where we are at as a side at the moment,” said Ollie Pope of the possibility of a series win. “We’re quite a young side, so it will be a great achievement if we can win this series. The Cape Town Test says a lot about what we’ve got within the camp.”
Jack Leach is also set to fly home tomorrow, having failed to recover sufficiently from sepsis suffered in New Zealand and ’flu and gastroenteritis here. He could be joined by his Somerset team-mate Craig Overton, who was originally called up as cover at the height of England’s illness crisis and is due on the Lions tour of Australia in a week. With at least two other spare seamers in the squad, Overton is unlikely to be required.
