Saturday, November 23, 2024

England v Australia T20s: Jos Buttler out of series with calf injury

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England captain Jos Buttler has been ruled out of the three-match Twenty20 series against Australia and is a doubt for the five one-day internationals that follow.

Buttler, 33, has not played since the T20 World Cup in June because of a calf injury.

In his absence, Phil Salt will captain England for the first time in the T20s, while Harry Brook is in line to step up if needed in the ODIs.

The T20 series begins on Wednesday in Southampton, with the ODIs starting on 19 September.

The visit of Australia is England’s first white-ball assignment since they lost in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup.

Head coach Matthew Mott has since left, but Buttler remained as captain after a review by managing director Rob Key.

Marcus Trescothick is England’s interim white-ball coach for the Australia series and the tour of the West Indies in November.

It was announced this week that Test coach Brendon McCullum will take charge of the limited-overs sides, although his combined role does not begin until January.

Buttler was injured in training before The Hundred and sat out the entire competition, along with Lancashire’s defeat by Sussex in the quarter-finals of the T20 Blast on Wednesday.

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