Jofra Archer tipped to replace injured James Anderson for third Test

England are without their leading wicket-taker for the rest of the South Africa series, but Joe Root has been urged to turn to the Barbados seamer

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Former England captains Mike Atherton and Nasser Hussain believe the time is right for Jofra Archer to return to the fold in place of the injured James Anderson for the third Test against South Africa.

The 37-year-old has been ruled out of the final two Tests of the series with a rib injury suffering during the 189-run win in Cape Town.

Archer missed the game with an elbow injury but is expected to be available for selection come the Port Elizabeth clash, which is scheduled to start next Thursday (January 16).

He took his third five-wicket haul in seven Tests against The Proteas at Centurion and Atherton believes he is the natural choice to replace England's all-time wicket-taker.

"It's a long time since England have been to Port Elizabeth but if the pitch hasn't changed from the last time they were there and from when we played, it's quite a slow, flat, coastal surface so I would say you'd want the extra zip - so Archer would seem the likeliest replacement," Atherton told Sky Sports.

"He's put in three five-wicket hauls in seven Test matches, so that would be the obvious change; the other change that they'll consider is whether to bring in Jack Leach for Dom Bess.

^{Mark Wood and Chris Woakes are fit again}

"Bess really came in because Leach was unwell and you couldn't argue that he's done enough to keep his place with a pair and one wicket on a wearing fifth-day pitch if Leach is fit. If Leach was fully fit I'd probably go for Leach - I'd go back to the man they considered their principle spinner."

Mark Wood and Chris Woakes are also available having recovered from fitness concerns of their own but Hussain would guard against throwing either into the fold unless they are fully fit.

"If Jofra is fully fit I would put him straight in," said Hussain. "He's got three five-wicket hauls in seven Test matches; he got a five-for in the last game that he played. The Port Elizabeth pitch is pretty flat and you want that extra pace as well.

"So if he is fully fit I would go with Archer straight back in. If he's wavering in any way, Chris Woakes is now fully fit. He's an exceptional cricketer.

"Mark Wood has a history of injuries and if he's sore I would want him to do so much more work before he comes back into a real hard Test match on a flat pitch. You might want to save Wood, if he can get through everything, for the Wanderers on a quicker pitch."