England captain Jos Buttler has been sidelined for the upcoming three-match Twenty20 series against Australia, and may miss the five one-day internationals that follow. The 33-year-old has been absent from action since June due to a calf injury sustained during the T20 World Cup.
In Buttler's absence, Phil Salt is set to captain the T20 side for the first time, with Harry Brook prepared to step in for the ODI series if necessary. The T20 matches kick off on Wednesday in Southampton, followed by the ODI series starting on 19 September.
This series marks England's first white-ball challenge since their semi-final exit in the T20 World Cup. Despite head coach Matthew Mott’s departure, Buttler retained the captaincy after a review conducted by managing director Rob Key. However, Marcus Trescothick has taken over as interim white-ball coach for both the Australia series and the West Indies tour scheduled for November.
This week also brought the news that Test coach Brendon McCullum will oversee England’s limited-overs teams, though his new role will not begin until January.
Buttler’s injury, picked up before The Hundred, forced him to miss that tournament as well as Lancashire’s T20 Blast quarter-final defeat to Sussex. Salt, who captained Manchester Originals in The Hundred, will now lead a revamped T20 squad featuring six uncapped players, including Surrey all-rounder Jamie Overton, who has been called up as injury cover for Buttler.
Salt, a mainstay in England’s white-ball setup, has appeared in 31 T20s and 19 ODIs and has solidified his position at the top of the batting order. At 28, he might have taken over wicketkeeping duties if Buttler were fit, and he could still combine captaincy with keeping. Jordan Cox is another possible wicketkeeping option.
Meanwhile, Harry Brook, who has been vice-captain in the Test squad under stand-in skipper Ollie Pope, will join the ODI squad after a short rest following England’s final Test against Sri Lanka. The 25-year-old, a former England Under-19 captain and leader of Northern Superchargers in The Hundred, is seen as a future captaincy candidate for the senior team.
Cox, currently part of England’s Test setup, has also been added to the ODI squad for the Australia series while retaining his place in the T20 squad.