Archer elbow injury compounds England's woes as Root wins toss

Cape Town, January 3: Jofra Archer has been ruled out of the second Test between South Africa and England at Newlands through injury.

England fast bowler Archer has been unable to recover from an elbow complaint and must now be assessed with regards to his availability for the remainder of the four-match rubber.

The 24-year-old's absence compounds a relentless tale of woe for Joe Root's squad, which has been ravaged by illness for the majority of their tour so far.

One of the victims of the sickness bug, Ollie Pope, is back in after sitting out the opening defeat at Centurion, but England's top scorer in that game, Rory Burns, is out for the rest of the series due to an ankle injury sustained while playing football in training on Thursday.

It means a second Test cap and first as an opener for Kent youngster Zak Crawley, who will face up to the new ball on the first morning after Root won the toss and elected to bat.

Pieter Malan is a debutant at the top of the Proteas order, as expected, with Aiden Markram out for the remaining Tests due to a broken finger.