England will go into their T20I series against South Africa without both Ben Duckett and Jamie Smith this week, prompting head coach Brendon McCullum to concede they must learn how to cope better with their busy international schedule.

Duckett, Smith and Harry Brook have been ever-present for England across their 15 international fixtures to date this summer, and all spent August playing in the Hundred. All three players will miss next week's brief tour to Ireland , and McCullum has prescribed an additional week's rest for his ODI openers so they can "freshen up" ahead of a busy winter away.

It means that Duckett and Smith will miss consecutive T20I series less than six months out from a World Cup in the format, when better planning would have seen them skip the ODIs instead

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