Jofra Archer is poised to return to international cricket with England on Friday as Jos Buttler's team tackle South Africa in the first of three ODIs.
The 27-year-old fast bowler has been building up form and fitness by playing for MI Cape Town in the SA20 series, having played no international cricket since March 2021 due to injury.
Major elbow and back problems put Archer's blossoming career on hold, but he is back now.
Although Archer is only around 80 per cent of the way through his recovery, by his own estimation, all that is lacking is "fine-tuning", he said this week.
This is music to the ears of captain Jos Buttler, who said on Thursday: "It's great to have Jofra back, fit and playing cricket again. He's such an exciting guy to have back on the field. As an England captain, to have him back in your squad and in your team is brilliant.
"He's only just coming back to competitive cricket, this will be his first international game for a long time, so there's always going to be a level of expectation on Jofra because we all know what he's capable of. But I'm sure he's just going to get better and better as he comes back and gets back to performing at such a high level."
Buttler says Archer may need "a little bit of time" to fully return to where he was before injuries began to take their toll.
But at the start of a World Cup year, with England preparing to defend their 50-over title in India in October and November, Buttler said: "It's just fantastic to see him fit and back playing again."
Ahead of the opening match in Bloemfontein, England know a 3-0 series win would see them jump back above India to the top of the ODI rankings.
Former skipper Kevin Pietersen made an appearance at the team's training session on Thursday, with England looking to get back to winning ways after failing to win any of their last three ODI series, losing to Australia and India and drawing at home against South Africa.
The Proteas continue to be led by Temba Bavuma, and this series could be a key one in terms of his future as white-ball captain.
A shock defeat to the Netherlands knocked South Africa out of the T20 World Cup in November, with Bavuma signalling he will concur with whatever decision is made about the team's future leadership.
Rob Walter is due to take over as coach of the ODI side from the start of February, with Shukri Conrad overseeing this series.
"If the team wants to go in a different direction with a different leader, I am happy to step away," Bavuma said. "Ultimately it's up to the coach. We have got a new coach now and might be a new coaching staff.
"The coach will have his vision and he will need someone to drive that vision. At the moment the coach has entrusted me with that role, so I will continue doing my best. I'm fortunate I have got a bunch of guys that support me. For me, it's business as usual for now."
Milestone in sight for Roy
England batter Jason Roy is seven away from reaching 4,000 runs in ODIs. If he reaches the milestone in his first match of this series, his 105th innings, it would make him the second-fastest player to achieve it for England, Joe Root got there quicker than anyone, in just 91 innings.
Parnell on brink of century
Wayne Parnell, set to win a 70th ODI cap, will be hoping to complete 100 scalps in the 50-over international game during this series. He is on 97 at present and can become the 13th player to reach 100 wickets in the format for the Proteas. He has taken three or more wickets in three ODIs against England, including his career-best figures of 3-48, all the way back in November 2009.
Matthews wins third ICC Women’s Player of the Month award
Hayley Matthews has been named as the ICC Women’s Player of the Month for April after spearheading the West Indies’ success in Pakistan across both ODI and T20I series.
Matthews celebrates her third ICC Women’s Player of the Month award after previously winning in November 2021 and October 2023.
Her most recent success comes thanks to an array of eye-catching all-round performances resulting in 451 runs and 12 wickets across both shorter formats.
The West Indies began their tour of Pakistan with three ODIs, and skipper Matthews set the tone early with a dominant display in the opening encounter, blasting an unbeaten 140 from atop the order and following up with three wickets for 17.
More success followed with Matthews replicating her heroics in the third fixture, scoring 141 in 149 balls and taking two wickets for 26 in another comfortable victory to seal the ODI series sweep.
When the attention turned to the subsequent T20I series, the 26-year-old reinforced her position as the top-ranked Women’s T20I allrounder.
Back-to-back half-centuries in Karachi and six wickets at an average of 10.50 told the tale of her series, as she inspired the tourists to another emphatic 4-1 series triumph.
“I am really happy to win the award again. These performances resulted in the team’s success and that’s the most important thing for me as captain,” Matthews told ICC.
“To win in Pakistan was always a big goal. I wanted to perform well and contribute to the team’s success so to be able to have performances and get the results, that was really good and showed that the hard work and the concentration in Pakistan paid off.
“Being able to set some new records and achieve some new milestones as well was good for me so I’m extremely happy. We have confidence and we will take this with us going into the tour of Sri Lanka and look to secure more crucial points in the ICC Women’s Championship.”
Republic Bank CPL launches broadcast talent search
The Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) have launched a region wide talent search to find a presenter for their broadcast of the 2024 season. The CPL Talent Search is open to all Caribbean residents and the prize for the winner will be a contract to be a pitch side presenter for this year’s event.
This groundbreaking initiative will be searching for the next sports presenting super star from within the region with training on offer for the winning participant so that they can hone their talent and use this amazing opportunity as a springboard to a career in broadcasting. This is one of the many CPL initiatives that look to develop the next generation of Caribbean talent, but this is the first time that the focus will be on the CPL broadcast which was watched by 853.5million viewers in 2023.
Those wanting to submit a performance into the contest can do so by sharing them in front of the camera presenting or interviewing someone on social media with the hashtag #CPLTALENTSEARCH.
Paul Pritchett-Brown, CPL’s Head of Production, said: “We are really looking forward to seeing the submissions from the next generation of broadcasting talent from across the region. This is an amazing opportunity to showcase your skills in front of the camera and we are hopeful that we will get a lot of submissions as we search for the next on screen talent.”
'Not a good sign' – Keane unimpressed by Man Utd's injured absentees
Roy Keane was left questioning the attitudes of Manchester United's players as the Red Devils were once again without numerous key players for Sunday's loss to Arsenal.
Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford and Lisandro Martinez were among the notable names to miss out for the 1-0 defeat at Old Trafford, as Erik ten Hag bemoaned continued injury issues.
Martinez and Harry Maguire's absence ensured Ten Hag had to field Jonny Evans and makeshift centre-back partner Casemiro in defence, with the latter at fault for Leandro Trossard's winning goal.
Wayne Rooney vocalised his concerns over the application of United's players and Keane, speaking on Sky Sports, echoed his thoughts as he questioned the prolonged absence of some.
"Obviously, that's not a good sign," Keane said of players not returning from injury. "You'd hope players who are carrying injuries are desperate to get back playing again.
"There is always a worry, there are always players at every club that can drag their heels with an injury.
"Generally, players I played with when they were given a period they'd be injured for, they were always trying to knock a week off it and get back playing for Manchester United or whatever club they're at."
Without a host of key players, United have conceded in 10 successive games in all competitions for the first time since October 2021.
The Red Devils' 82 goals they have conceded this season is their most since 1970-71 (also 82), too, as United continue to disappoint in the 2023-23 campaign.
United have also lost 19 games in all competitions this season, their most since 1977-78 (also 19), while their nine defeats at Old Trafford this term are their joint-most at home in a single campaign.
Keane says the concerns over players not racing back to fitness is not unusual, though it does little to aid Ten Hag's plight.
"It's always a worry but I have to say, it goes on at lots of football clubs," the United great said.
"There are lots of players out there when they have an injury, they're not in the hurry to get back in the team. I think that's obvious and happens at lots of football clubs."
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