Joe Root misses England training with bug

England captain Joe Root did not train on Sunday after being laid low by a stomach bug, a potential blow to the tourists with the third Test against South Africa starting on Thursday at St George's Park.

Root, also unwell during the first Test, is one of 17 England players and support staff who have been hit by a flu-like bug on what has been dubbed the 'cursed tour', according to an England and Wales Cricket Board statement.

Opening batsman Rory Burns and veteran seamer James Anderson have already returned home through injury.

Root will probably be placed in quarantine and given time to recover in the hope he will be at the toss on Thursday in Port Elizabeth.

Should he not be fit, his place is likely to be taken by Jonny Bairstow.

South Africa won the first Test of the four-match series in Pretoria by 107 runs, before England bounced back to claim the second in Cape Town by 189 runs.