‌Headache for England as Jos Buttler likely to miss Australia series

Buttler, who last played competitive cricket in the 2024 T20 World Cup semi-final against India, has incurred a setback in his injury recovery process. He was set to feature for the Lancashire Lightnings in the T20 Blast Quarter Finals against Sussex on September 4. However, the team coach Dale Benkenstein confirmed to BBC Radio Lancashire that the wicketkeeper-batter is not fit to participate in the knockout event.

"We've had some bad news on his recovery. "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."

However, England management is not overly concerned about Buttler’s setback and is expecting him to be fit to lead the side for eight white-ball games against Australia. The Three Lions do not have an official vice-captain for the particular format, and if required, Sam Curran or Phil Salt might get deputised to lead the side in Buttler’s absence.

England are playing three T20Is and five ODIs against the Aussies with exciting talents such as Jacob Bethall, John Turner, Josh Hull, and Dan Mousley earning a place. The troop will be under the stewardship of Andre Flintoff, who will replace Marcus Trescothick for the third Test against Sri Lanka at the Kennington Oval and the forthcoming white ball series.

England’s squad for 3 T20Is and 5 ODIs against Australia: Jos Buttler (c), Jofra Archer, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Jordan Cox, Sam Curran, Josh Hull, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood, Dan Mousley, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, John Turner.