Rutte and Butler have been ill since the third day of the match in England, with the England team not following the illness. Joe Rutte and Jos Butler have been infected with the flu after Mark Wood, Jack Leach, Chris Oaks, Ollie Pope, Stuart Broad, and Jofra Archer.
Butler continued to feel ill before coming to the field for the third day of the Century Test. Johnny Bairstow hands the kicking gloves. Butler was healthy the day before; Dean Elgar and Zubair Hamza also gloved. He could not get to the field on the morning of the third day. Instead, he kept wicketkeeping on Saturday, Bairstow.
The route, however, was early in the day. But after 40 minutes, the captain had to leave the field due to stomach problems. He returned to the field shortly after lunch because the condition was not serious. In his absence, Ben Stokes led England.
The English players have spent a week following the tour of New Zealand.
Since arriving in South Africa on December 14, a number of England players and staff have fallen ill. Bowler Archer, Broad, and Leach could not play any of the two preparation matches. Although Archer-Broad was declared fit before the Centennial Test on Thursday, Leach was staying at the team hotel.
Oaks and Wood, who have been ill just before the start of the test, are suspected of playing in the Pretoria Test. Board officials said the two were kept separate from their colleagues at the hotel. Stokes suffered from dehydration on the first day of the match, although he batted well on Friday.
The English players have spent a week following the tour of New Zealand. It’s winter in England now. The illness of the players could not adapt to the heat from South Africa.
Meanwhile, Protea batsman Aiden Markram has been sidelined for 8 weeks with a finger injury. So the England series is over for him. Earlier in the tour of India, Markram had broken the bones of the wrists in a dressing room wall in the Pune Test. He returned to England against that injury but received an ankle injury on the second day of fielding. He will undergo surgery next week. see more
