It appears the Proteas will finally return to action after the South African government is said to have provided its approval for England to tour the country next month.

According to multiple sources, Minister of Sport Nathi Mthethwa is believed to have verbally authorised the tour to take place, with official confirmation expected soon.

This comes after Mthethwa last week informed Cricket South Africa acting president Beresford Williams of his plans for government intervention at the organisation after the CSA board failed to step down given the financial mess it finds itself in.

READ: CSA remains mum on England tour

The UK has been drafted on the list of high-risk Covid-19 countries, but the government has also reportedly lifted the quarantine requirements for Eoin Morgan and his team to train and reside in their bio-bubble.

The three ODIs and three T20Is will be held at Newlands and Boland Park in Paarl, respectively, while the England team is expected to stay at the Vineyard Hotel in Cape Town and finish their preparations at the Western Province Cricket Club.

At a recent Chance to Shine charity event, Proteas skipper Quinton de Kock highlighted the significance of returning to international cricket.

‘If the boys do come over I’m sure it’ll be a good series once again. The world saw the last series between us, even though we lost, we still played unbelievable cricket, so did England. We are hoping it will go on, but with the pandemic, who knows?’ he said.

Similarly, Morgan, also at the event, said it will be just as important for England to start doing tours again after they restarted international cricket back in July as the West Indies, Pakistan and Australia all toured the UK in bio-bubbles.

‘There is a huge responsibility not just to get your home country’s fixtures under way, but a huge responsibility to facilitate other countries around the world,’ Morgan said.

‘We will do what we can to try and get cricket back on, because it means a huge amount for people in lockdown in their own countries, and also for Cricket South Africa financially.

‘I know the worry we had about potentially not bowling a ball all summer and the detrimental impact that would have, probably on grassroots cricket more than any other part of the game. If the tour goes ahead, we’d love to come down, as the series we played last time was incredible.’