James Anderson returns to help England stretch struggling Proteas even further

Anderson was ruled out of the series opener in Durban due to a calf strain that has been troubling him since the start of the trip.

But England have been easing their record wicket-taker back into action over the course of the past week, with Anderson sending down regular spells in the nets.

Yesterday morning the 32-year-old sent down the equivalent of six overs in the middle, watched by bowling coach Ottis Gibson, and got through the session without any concerns.

England fly to Cape Town today, with the Test starting on Saturday.

South Africa have tagged Quinton de Kock and Chris Morris onto their squad for the second Test. In the immediate aftermath of their loss in Durban, South Africa sent for Titans duo De Kock and Morris to bolster their squad.

De Kock – who keeps wicket, a position under scrutiny owing to the strain being put on AB de Villiers – has played six Tests, making 264 runs.

All-rounder Morris is still to make a Test debut, but has 12 limited-over caps to his name and bowling resources could be needed given Dale Steyn’s shoulder injury.

After the first test defeat, South Africa coach Russell Domingo admitted his beaten side are beset by problems heading into the new year Test against England.

The Proteas sit on top of the ICC Test rankings, but their 241-run setback in the first Test at Durban took their winless streak to seven matches.

With just two days before the sides do battle again in Cape Town, Domingo has a number of serious issues on his plate.

Captain Hashim Amla is in a deep rut of form, star batsman AB de Villiers has indicated he is hoping to lessen his international workload and premier paceman Dale Steyn seems certain to miss the next match with a shoulder injury.

“There is a lot that went wrong in this game,” said a slightly shell-shocked Domingo.

“There are a lot of questions about the batting line-up, about AB’s retirement and Dale’s injury so there is a lot going on at the moment.

“I think the important thing for our team is to stay a tight unit and keep the noise out if you possibly can. There will be a lot of comments on Twitter and Facebook, but we have to keep that noise out and believing in what the team is capable of.”