South Africa vs England: Jofra Archer's Workload A Challenge For Eoin Morgan Who Doesn't Know His Best XI Yet

Ahead of the first T20I of the three-match series against South Africa, England skipper Eoin Morgan on Thursday said that the side does not know its best playing XI yet. England and South Africa are slated to play three T20Is and three ODIs. The first T20I will be played on Friday, November 27 at Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town. "The honest answer is we don't know our best XI yet. There are probably seven or eight guys who are pretty strong candidates to be in our playing XI, but the strength of the squad that we've selected, and the reserves that we have here, has made our full-strength side available for selection for the first time in a long time. That makes it very exciting," ESPNCricinfo quoted Morgan as saying.

"Winning at the moment would be great, but the process of going through what's best for our team and best for our players, to try and beat the opposition is extremely important.

"Given the luxury of players that we have at our disposal, it's more important that we get their roles right and they feel comfortable within that, because if we manage to solve that problem, the results will look after themselves," he added.

England had reached the finals of the 2016 T20 World Cup and the side would look to go one step ahead in the T20 World Cup slated to be held in India next year.

Pacer Jofra Archer has played just four T20Is in his England career so far and he had missed the last series in South Africa after sustaining an elbow injury during the Tests.

"He's (Archer) one of the best in the world, so he's incredible to have around. But I don't think we'll have him that often, between now and the World Cup," said Morgan.

"The challenge of him trying to commit to all the Tests and all of the T20s, I think that's too much. So we're just trying to get him into a headspace where he's enjoying his cricket while he's with us, and trying to make the most of the opportunity while he's with us," he added.

Earlier this year, England had defeated Australia 2-1 in the three-match T20I series.

Topics mentioned in this article

South Africa Cricket Team England Cricket Team Eoin Morgan Jofra Archer Cricket