Chris Woakes becomes latest England player to be hit by illness

Fellow bowlers Stuart Broad, Jofra Archer and Jack Leach have all been unwell so far on the trip, with all three missing England’s practice matches

Chris Woakes is a doubt for the first Test against South Africa after becoming the latest England player to go down with a bug that has swept through the visitors' camp.

Fellow bowlers Stuart Broad, Jofra Archer and Jack Leach have all been unwell so far on the trip, with all three missing England’s practice matches.

With the first Test at Centurion beginning on Boxing Day, the timing of Woakes’ case is far from convenient for Joe Root. Unlike his trio of teammates, the Warwickshire allrounder has featured in both of England's warmup games.

“He won’t be at training today,” Root told the BBC. “He wasn’t very well at all yesterday. These things happen unfortunately. We’re trying to manage it as best we can.

“We’ve made provisional plans in getting two guys out in (Craig) Overton and (Dom) Bess. They’ve trained very well in the last couple of days as backup. That’s why they’re here.

“These things can happen sometimes and you have to deal with them as a side. Fortunately, we’ve got some very talented players that have been in and around the squad. Given an opportunity, I’m sure they’d be desperate to prove a point and stamp their mark on this series.

“All we can do is try to manage it as best we can and try to keep the lads that aren’t ill, not ill, so we’re in as good a place as possible to go.”

The England captain could also be without talismanic allrounder Ben Stokes, who is at the bedside of his father, Ged, after he was admitted to hospital on Monday night with what was described in an ECB statement as “a serious illness”.

Root admitted he did not know whether Stokes would be available but stressed: “It’s important that he’s there with his family and that comes first. We’ll have to wait and see. But most importantly, we’re all there for Ben and the rest of his family.

“I just want to throw all our support behind him and his family and just stress the importance of trying to respect their privacy at this time. It’s really sad news and we’re all there for him.”

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