Opener Dominic Sibley has joined the ever-growing list of England players and support staff struck down by illness in South Africa, adding to the visitors' woes after defeat in the first Test in Centurion.
Sibley scored four and 29 in the first Test, which the Proteas won by 107 runs to take a lead in the four-match series, but is now a doubt for the second Test which starts in Cape Town on Friday.
There was better news regarding seamer Chris Woakes and spinner Jack Leach, who are showing signs of improvement and are out of quarantine at the team hotel.
Captain Joe Root and wicketkeeper Jos Buttler both felt unwell during the first Test, while fast bowlers Stuart Broad and Jofra Archer had no match practice in the build-up to the game after being laid low.
Ben Stokes was also treated for dehydration on the first day in Pretoria, while middle-order batsman Ollie Pope missed the game altogether and was replaced by Jonny Bairstow, while seamer Mark Wood also fell ill.
Batsman Joe Denly was also unwell in the build-up to the first Test and is one of 17 players and support staff who have fallen ill at some point on the tour but skipper Root refused to blame the illness for their defeat.
"We are not going to hide behind that as an excuse but a lot of our squad have been taken ill over the last two weeks," Root had said on Sunday.
"There are certain things you try to control but some that you can’t. We’ve done very well that it did not affect as many it could."
Meanwhile, South Africa coach Mark Boucher said winning his first Test in charge was as good as the many win he enjoyed as a player.
The win at SuperSport Park came a fortnight after Boucher, 43, was appointed to the post after a shake-up of Cricket South Africa’s structure.
“I’ve played quite a few Test matches and we won a couple of good ones but certainly this is up there, especially from where we have come," he said.
“It has been a hectic two weeks, we’ve put in a lot of hard work as a coaching staff, so this is a reward.
“I’m also very happy for the players and the way they approached it,” Boucher added.
“We said before we wanted to instill some confidence back in the players and to see them walk off the field with a win you can see now there is a belief that we can win Test matches against very good teams.”
