Jofra Archer to make England return against South Africa on Friday in first ODI

Jofra Archer will make his long-awaited England return in the first ODI against South Africa in Bloemfontein on Friday.

Archer last played for England in March 2021 but has been continuing his recovery from elbow and lower back injuries.

He returned to competitive cricket in the SA20 earlier this month and he will now play in the first of three ODIs against the Proteas on Friday, which is live on Sky Sports.

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Speaking ahead of the first match, England's white-ball captain Jos Buttler said it's "fantastic" to be able to call on the fast bowler.

"It's great to have Jofra back, fit and playing cricket again. I speak on behalf of everyone that he's such an exciting guy to have back on the field," he said.

"As an England captain, being able to have him back in your squad and the team is brilliant. He's only just coming back to competitive cricket, this will be his first international game for a long time.

"It would be naive to think it wouldn't take him a little bit of time to get up to 100 per cent. It's just fantastic to see him fit, back playing again, and we know he's just going to get better and better as time goes on."

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Bavuma: England are pioneers | Bazball is 'a stupid term!'

South Africa's limited overs captain Temba Bavuma has praised England, and said the reigning ODI and T20 champions are "pioneers of the game", but labelled Bazball as a "stupid term".

Bavuma's side face an uphill battle to reach the 2023 World Cup in India, but believes the series against England marks a fresh start for his side.

"England are probably the pioneers of the game. Guys are taking on the game a lot more and England have obviously done that very well," he said.

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"We South Africans have our way of thinking, our way of doing things, but I think there is nothing wrong with us taking a little bit from England, pulling it together and seeing what comes about.

"It is a bit of a fresh start for us. From now, looking ahead, there's a potential for us to do things differently. The biggest thing with the personnel we have is guys going out, expressing themselves."

Bavuma added that South Africa could adopt a style similar to Bazball - which is described as a "stupid term" but said his side would also play more defensive, if needed.

South Africa were eliminated in the group stages during the 2022 T20 World Cup and are out of the top-eight qualification spots for the ODI tournament in the autumn.

They play five matches, including three against England and two against the Netherlands, as they try to push up the table but realistically need four wins to avoid the qualifying tournament in June.

After the dismal performance in Australia, there were question marks over Bavuma's position as captain.

He has insisted that he has the backing of new white-ball coach Rob Walter and recently-appointed Test coach Shukri Conrad - who takes charge during the ODI series, with Walter taking the reins from February 1.

England continue preparations for their 50-over World Cup title defence this autumn with a three-match ODI series in South Africa, starting on Friday live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event.