'Absolute rubbish': Shane Warne slams England debacle

Batsman Rory Burns has been ruled out of the remainder of England's Test series against South Africa after an incident that Shane Warne has described as "rubbish".

England’s disappointing start to the series got worse after Burns suffered ligament damage on Thursday while playing football.

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The England cricket squad often mix up their training routines with games of football.

The friendly match was part of the tourists' warm-up training ahead of the second Test in Cape Town.

A statement from the England team said Burns would return home for further treatment and assessment as soon as possible.

Warne was scathing in his analysis of the injury to Burns, insisting teams nowadays are going overboard with their pre-game warm-ups.

"Warm-ups have been overrated for a long, long period of time," Warne said on Fox Cricket.

"Everyone goes out onto the ground, they warm up and they run around and do these silly little ladders and all that absolute rubbish that's not going to help you for the day.

"And you go inside and you sit down for half an hour and work out what you're going to do. Warm ups, overrated.

"Get to the ground later, have a bigger sleep in, get to the swimming pool, get out and play. You don't need all that absolute garbage at warm ups."

Burns situation ‘is bonkers’

Former England captain Michael Vaughan was equally as frustrated, considering it's the third time an England cricketer has been injured during a football warm up in the last 18 months.

"England play football for 30 minutes a day, they love it. You can't play football, I think the days now of the England players thinking that they're going to get a Premier League football contract are gone,” Vaughan said.

"Rory Burns misses a Test series, it's bonkers. There was a Liverpool player overnight... he was injured in the warm up. I don’t think he was playing cricket. "

Burns made 84 in the second innings of the first Test in Centurion, England's highest score in a match which they lost by 107 runs, while Archer's six wickets were the most in the match for the away side.

Zak Crawley is expected to replace Burns as Dom Sibley's opening partner on Friday.

England slumped to a 107-run defeat in the first Test at Centurion after being bowled out for 268 in their second innings.

With agencies