England bowlers Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and Jack Leach aim to prove fitness in key training session

Fitness tests: Jofra Archer is not yet bowling at full tilt
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Will Macpherson13 January 2020

A wonderful win in sun-soaked Cape Town, with thousands of travelling fans in attendance and young, old and legendary players to the fore, has given English cricket a newfound feelgood factor at the start of 2020.

It was a win that had the feel of the start of something, and a match that bolstered the argument for five-day Tests, just when it was most needed.

But, as England prepare for their 500th overseas Test, at St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth, the after-effects of what jokingly became known as the “cursed tour” still linger.

Joe Root fell ill again, while Jimmy Anderson has joined Rory Burns in returning home injured. For three more players, Monday's training session is of crucial importance. Jofra Archer and Mark Wood want to prove their fitness, while on the evidence of Sunday's session Jack Leach is still battling back from the illnesses that wrecked the end of 2019 for him.

There is, naturally, a keenness to get Archer, Wood, or both into the XI before the end of the tour. But both are struggling to be fit for Thursday, with Chris Woakes likeliest to play. The final Test at the Wanderers, where England could revert to a five-man seam attack, could see the pair unleashed together.

The worries about each are different. Archer is not yet bowling at full tilt after his elbow injury and must show that he has ramped things up. There was an interesting moment at training on Sunday when Ben Stokes interrupted Archer’s batting session to tell him to take it more seriously.

Wood is bowling at full tilt, with the trouble being that he has not played a match since the World Cup Final in July, so having confidence that he is ready to enter a Test is very difficult.

A more old-fashioned tour, with warm-up matches between Tests, would have served England well. Instead of the cricket many needed, players have been on a short holiday.

Leach is another who would have loved a game. Having fallen ill in Hamilton in November, he was among the worst affected by the bug that swept through the camp at Christmas.

Sick: It is almost two months since Leach bowled competitively
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It is almost two months since he bowled competitively and, while Leach became a cult hero in the summer, taking important wickets and cementing his status as a popular member of the group with huge amounts to offer, his hold on his spot was not impregnable. It would, therefore, be a surprise if he displaced Dom Bess this week.

Bess exceeded expectations at Newlands with the key wickets of Dean Elgar and Faf du Plessis and an economy of around two runs per over. Both bowlers, as well as Matt Parkinson, have been working hard with Jeetan Patel, the spin-bowling consultant who will join the squad in Sri Lanka in March, too. With that tour on the horizon, Bess deserves another shot.

As an aside, if Moeen Ali, the spin-bowling elephant in the room, remains unavailable, the fact that both Leach and Bess are Somerset players will trouble the England think-tank. With “Ciderabad” pitches — meaning both men could play together — less likely after the ECB docked Somerset points, the situation feels increasingly like the one that saw Jos Buttler leave for Lancashire because of the presence of Craig Kieswetter, who was forced to retire through injury soon after. Certainly, there would be interest in Bess across the county game.

For a team with much to be optimistic about, England’s XI on Thursday will still have a rather patchwork feel. They will hope that, starting this afternoon, those pieces begin to fall into place.

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