England captain Jos Buttler will miss Tuesday’s T20I against Pakistan in Cardiff to be with his wife for the birth of their third child.
Butter led the way for England with 84 in the first innings of their 23-run win over the tourists in the second match of the series at Edgbaston on Saturday, after the opening match in Leeds was abandoned without a ball being bowled.
But the 33-year-old left the squad following that game, with his wife set to give birth soon.
Vice-captain Moeen Ali is likely to take charge for the match at Sophia Gardens, while it remains to be seen whether Buttler will return for the fourth and final T20I of the series at The Oval on Thursday.
“England been planning for this eventuality, as much as you can plan for the birth of a child,” Sky Sports News reporter James Cole said.
“He could return for the final T20I at The Oval at the end of this week. The captaincy, we believe, will go to Moeen Ali, who is the vice-captain.
“In terms of opening the batting here, it could be Will Jacks. He’s batting at No 3 at the moment, but he’s opened the batting in a T20 before and is comfortable in that position.”
Jacks has recently returned from a spell in the Indian Premier League, which included making a sparkling unbeaten century to lead Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a nine-wicket victory over Gujarat Titans.
If he is elevated to opening the batting alongside Phil Salt in Cardiff, it would see Jacks partnering with someone he knows well from franchise cricket and who has made an impressive start to his international white-ball career.
“I think we’re both very comfortable,” Jacks said. “Me and Phil have played a lot of cricket together – we’ve played franchise cricket together which definitely helps when we come to England.
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Virat Kohli watched on from the other end in amazement as England’s Will Jacks hit a 41-ball century for Royal Challengers Bengaluru against Gujarat Titans in the IPL
“We understand each others’ games very well and we’re both that kind of free-flowing, top-order batters everyone has nowadays.
“He did brilliantly in the West Indies and he’s cemented his spot opening there, and we’re just loving playing for England, doing our best, loving the experiences and trying to do our best for the team.”
Meanwhile, Jofra Archer is likely to be rested for Tuesday’s match against Pakistan after taking 2-28 at Edgbaston to help bowl the tourists out for 160.
That will probably see Mark Wood return to the side but Jacks was pleased to see pace-ace Archer make a big impact on his return to action following a lengthy spell out injured.
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Archer’s return to international cricket for the first time since March 2023 saw him smash a huge six and pick up two wickets
“It’s great for all English fans, even cricket fans all over the world – everyone wants to see him bowl,” Jacks said. “It’s been a while and to see him even come back from how he got hit in his first over is impressive.
“He’s been bowling good speed in the nets, good speed in the middle, good yorkers at the death – he’s a massive asset for us and we love to have in him our team.”
What’s next?
England and Pakistan meet in two further T20 internationals before the T20 World Cup – in Cardiff on Tuesday and at The Kia Oval on Thursday, with both matches starting at 6.30pm.
England’s T20 World Cup opener is against Scotland in Barbados on Tuesday June 4 (3.30pm start), while Pakistan get under way against co-hosts USA in Dallas on Thursday June 6 (4.30pm).