England’s white-ball captain, Jos Buttler seems to have hit a snag on his road to recovery, ahead of the white-ball series against rivals Australia at home.
Buttler was looking to make his return to cricket following his side’s semifinal defeat to India in the T20 World Cup 2024. While preparing to play The Hundred, the England skipper sustained a calf injury which ruled him out of the tournament.
Looking to recover ahead of Lancashire’s quarterfinal fixture against Sussex in the T20 Blast, the coach Dale Benkenstein confirmed that Buttler would not be part of the squad and also a doubt for the Australia series.
“He had an injury he was recovering from, and he’s sort of tweaked it again. He’s not only just out of our T20s, but I think he’s even struggling to make the international ones. He was very keen to play for us,” Benkenstein said to BBC Radio Lancashire, as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.
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Another interesting point to note is that England’s white-ball sides do not have a designated vice-captain like Ollie Pope is for the Test team. It is suggested that the likes of Phil Salt and Sam Curran are frontrunners to lead the side should Buttler be unavailable.
Buttler could also avoid wicketkeeping duties considering his injury to ensure that he does not hinder the recovery process but also be able to contribute with the bat. The English skipper is handy on the outfield as seen on various occasions in the Indian Premier League with the Rajasthan Royals where the wicketkeeping duties fall for the franchise skipper, Sanju Samson.
England will take on their rivals Australia at home in a three-match T20I series followed by a five-match ODI series. The first T20I game is set to take place on September 11 at the Utilita Bowl in West End, Hampshire.
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The ODI games in particular will prove to be a testing ground for the side to try out their various combinations and get important match practice to gain clarity of the final squad that will travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy 2025.
England will be keen on bouncing back after a poor performance in the ODI World Cup in India last year. The squad was far from their expected level of performance as they produced arguably one of the worst campaigns set by a defending champion.
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