England trio set to be rested

England national selector Ed Smith has defended the decision to give Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Sam Curran a rest after it was suggested the Indian Premier League had been prioritised over their international duties.

Stokes is set to return to England’s ranks for the Twenty20 portion of the tour of South Africa, but the talismanic allrounder, paceman Archer and left-arm seamer Curran will be given a break for the one-day series that follows.

The trio have featured in the rearranged IPL, with Stokes only returning to action last month after being granted a period of extended leave over the summer to be with his ill father, Ged, in New Zealand.

Archer spent more time than any England player in a biosecure bubble over the summer, and there were similar measures in place at the IPL in the United Arab Emirates, while Curran has had a heavy workload in recent months.

“If you look at the commitment shown to England by those three players – Curran, Archer and Stokes – and their big performances in an England shirt, I don’t think anyone could question their commitment to the cause,” Smith said.

“It’s simply the case that the ECB had a stance for a number of years of permitting players to play in IPL.

“We’re going to take those opportunities to give them a break when we believe it’s in England’s best interests and that’s what we’re doing for the second leg of this South Africa tour.”

England T20 squad: E Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, J Archer, J Bairstow, S Billings, J Buttler, S Curran, T Curran, C Jordan, D Malan, A Rashid, J Roy, B Stokes, R Topley, M Wood.

England ODI squad: E Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, J Bairstow, S Billings, J Buttler, T Curran, L Gregory, L Livingstone, A Rashid, J Root, J Roy, O Stone, R Topley, C Woakes, M Wood.

Reserves: J Ball, T Banton, T Helm.