Joe Root and Jos Buttler become latest members of England squad struck down by illness

The pair, who were awarded MBEs last night, join Mark Wood, Ollie Pope, Jack Leach, Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad and Jofra Archer in contracting a mystery sickness

England's miserable start to their tour of South Africa has been dealt another blow as Joe Root and Jos Buttler were unable to take the field for the start of the day three in Centurion due to illness.

Buttler has become the fourth player to be quarantined due to a bug running through the England camp, joining Mark Wood, Jack Leach and Chris Woakes in being locked down on the sidelines.

Jonny Bairstow, who had been selected as a specialist batsman at the start of the Test, has since assumed the wicketkeeping gloves, taking a catch to dismiss Quinton de Kock shortly after lunch.

Root left the field early this morning with stomach complaints and a fever, joining Buttler briefly in a makeshift quarantine at SuperSport Park, however his symptoms are understood to not be as severe as those of several of his teammates.

He returned to the field shortly after the lunch break, and the ECB expects he should to be free to bat within the top six without restriction should he continue to remain in the field.

If Buttler does not return to the field before the conclusion of South Africa's second innings, he would not be permitted to bat above No.7 during England's chase should he even be fit to take the crease.

The pair are the latest members of the touring party to struggle with illness since arriving in South Africa. Seamers Jofra Archer and Stuart Broad had missed out on warm-up fixtures while recovering from the bug, while four members of the team's staff have also displayed symptoms, including coaches Graham Thorpe and Carl Hopkinson.

Ollie Pope, who had previously been among the quartet quarantined in the team hotel, has since been released and travelled to the ground to train, and Somerset's Dom Bess and Craig Overton have so far been called up to join the 17-man squad in South Africa as reinforcements.

Vice-captain Ben Stokes has led the side on the field in Root's absence, having appeared to recover from the dehydration that kept him out of action for significant portions of the opening day of the game.

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